Jadeveon Clowney vows to keep playing
"I got more in the tank than people think," Clowney says.
Before the draft, Panthers G.M. Dan Morgan was vague when asked about the future of edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney. After the draft, a report emerged that the Panthers engaged in pre-draft conversations about possibly trading Clowney.
It was no shock, then, when the Panthers moved on from Clowney, on Thursday.
In eleven NFL seasons, Clowney (the first overall pick in 2014) has played for the Texans, Seahawks, Titans, Browns, Ravens, and Panthers.
He fully intends to keep going.
“I’m definitely gonna play well," Clowney told Joseph Person of TheAthletic.com. "You can mark my word on that. I don’t care where I end up playing at, I’m gonna play extremely well."
Clowney seemed to disagree with the Panthers' decision to part ways.
“I think I played well for Carolina [last] year, considering the circumstances that . . . unfolded for me," Clowney said. "I played with a bunch of guys that was hurt this past year. And I ended up playing extremely well for them. So it is what it is. I can play the game. I can play football. There are 31 other teams. I just hope another team gives me that opportunity so I can prove myself again. I feel like I can do that.”
He nevertheless had a feeling this was coming.
"I got a sense then they wanted me out of the building,” Clowney said. “I was just like, ‘Y’all could’ve told me this back when I was coming in here during the offseason.’ I kind of had a sense, though. I’ve been around the game long enough to know, so I was OK.”
He attributed last year's struggles to injuries to other players and overall issues for the offense and the defense.
"[W]e was behind the 8-ball a lot, getting scored on and couldn’t score," Clowney said. "It was like, you can’t rush, you can’t stop the run, you’re in a bad situation. That’s just football.”
The Panthers could have done this in March, allowing Clowney to hit the market when the other teams were looking for new players. The specific timing was viewed, we're told, as less-than-ideal by his agent, Kennard McGuire. The announcement, which could have been made on Wednesday or today, came as McGuire was attending his daughter's graduation from Howard University.
Clowney now lands on the open market relatively late in the process — but still with time to find his new opportunity.
“I got more in the tank than people think,” Clowney said. “I just keep bringing it, and they’re gonna keep counting me out."
Clowney, 32, had 5.5 sacks in 14 games last season. He has played in 140 career games, with 127 starts. Beyond his 58 career sacks, Clowney has a history of high performance in one specific area that has yet to be recognized as an official statistic. It's called "eff up the play" by Simms — who (to no surprise) often uses a word other than "eff" when citing it whenever the topic comes up on PFT Live.
The challenge will become finding the sweet spot between Clowney's financial expectations and the potential offers to come from other teams. For now, other teams would be wise to take a close look at his 2024 film, and then to decide whether there's a spot in the lineup for a player who has a history of creating havoc, even if that havoc doesn't always manifest itself on the stat sheet.
