Wyman & Bob: Should Seahawks make another run at Jadeveon Clowney?
Mar 5, 2022, 9:41 AM
Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney of the Seattle Seahawks battles through the block of offensive lineman Justin Murray of the Arizona Cardinals. (Ralph Freso/Getty Images)
(Ralph Freso/Getty Images)
The Seahawks enter the 2022 offseason in a familiar position as the pass rush is, once again, an area of concern.
Clayton: Why you shouldn’t worry about Hawks’ cap this offseason
Seattle started slow at pass rush in 2020, but ultimately the Seahawks finished seventh in sacks that year. That late-season surge didn’t carry over into 2021, however, as the Seahawks were tied for 22nd in sacks while going 7-10.
So what can Seattle do this offseason to address the lackluster pass rush? Gil Brandt, a former NFL executive who serves as a senior analyst for NFL.com, said the Seahawks should reunite with an old friend in Jadeveon Clowney, who played in Seattle in 2019.
“Clowney is now in a much different place, career-wise, than he was after the 2019 season, when he spurned efforts by Seattle, which had acquired him via trade, to retain him in free agency,” Brandt wrote. “After a down 2020 in Tennessee, a rejuvenated Clowney piled up nine sacks for the Browns, which would have made him the single-season leader on a Seahawks team that finished tied for 22nd in sacks last season. There is some risk in committing to the 29-year-old, who undoubtedly benefited from the presence of Myles Garrett in Cleveland and hasn’t played a full season since 2017. And there will likely be competition, not least from the Browns, who would surely like to keep Clowney around. Finally, there is the potential awkwardness around the end of Clowney’s time in Seattle. But there should also be a definite urgency to upgrade the talent base around Russell Wilson, which makes it easy to imagine Clowney returning to the Pacific Northwest.”
The Seahawks acquired Clowney from the Houston Texans shortly before the 2019 season began in exchange for two defenders and a third-round pick. Clowney had his moments, such as a dominant effort against the then-undefeated San Francisco 49ers, but he ultimately finished his Seahawks tenure with just three sacks in 14 games as he battled a core injury for much of the season.
The Seahawks made repeated efforts to re-sign Clowney, including an offer that was reportedly the best he received, but he waited until late in the offseason and signed a one-year deal with Tennessee, where he had no sacks in just eight games. But he rebounded with Cleveland in 2021 with nine sacks, which was just shy of his career-high of 9.5.
So should the Seahawks try and bring Clowney back to the Pacific Northwest? Here’s what Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton said during Thursday’s Wyman and Bob on 710 ESPN Seattle.
“I thought he was a really good run player,” Wyman said. ” … For D-linemen, you don’t want to go too far upfield. When you see a play break one way or another, you have to go on a flatline down the line of scrimmage. I don’t think there’s anybody that does that better.”
Something that intrigues Stelton is Clowney, now 29, likely won’t command the type of money the Seahawks offered him two offseasons ago.
“He’s a guy that you if you were to get him, you’re not paying anything close to what you were offering them when he left here last time. And he’s coming off a season where he played 14 games and had nine sacks,” he said. ” … I’m not sure what it would take to get him here.”
Stelton also likes that Clowney was clearly loved when he was with the team in 2019.
“He was far from a problem … I mean, they wanted him back,” Stelton said. “They made him an offer. So he was not a negative by any stretch. Did he live up to what people were hoping he would do in the way of sacks? No … But he was a guy who pressured. He’s the guy who really took up a lot of attention from the from the O-line out there. And he was good against the run.”
“I just think if you get him at a reasonable price … maybe he gets a ‘prove-it’ deal or some sort of incentive-laden deal, yeah, I wouldn’t bat an eye at that. I’d bring him in,” Stelton said, adding that expectations for Clowney would be a little more manageable this time around if he re-joined the Seahawks.
Wyman thinks the Seahawks are also known for something that could play a big part in Clowney potentially returning.
“I think the other (reason the Seahawks have) a good chance of getting him back at a team-friendly deal is that Pete and John do the best job as far as when players go out the door of keeping relationships open,” Wyman said.
Listen to the fourth hour of Thursday’s Wyman and Bob at this link or in the player below.
