Jadeveon Clowney will not attend Houston Texans offseason activities
By Jair Lopez
Houston Texans pass rusher, Jadeveon Clowney is reportedly not going to take part of the team’s voluntary offseason program.
Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reported that Houston Texans Pro Bowl outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney is expected to miss the Texans offseason voluntary program as he continues his quest to seek out a long term contract after hitting free agency as an unrestricted free agent.
Texans general manager Brian Gaine decided the best course of action to avoid losing Clowney was to place the franchise tag, but Clowney has very little incentive to sign the franchise tag offer with millions of dollar on the table.
Clowney is expected to earn a sizeable amount of money in his next contract after playing out the fifth-year option of his rookie scale contract as the first overall draft pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. One of the biggest dominoes fell and set the Clowney’s contract saga into motion as the Dallas Cowboys premiere pass rusher Demarcus Lawrence earned a five year $105 million extension with $65 million guaranteed.
Texans have leverage with the franchise tag as they keep Clowney under contract for the 2019 season, but the front office will have to hammer out a long term deal to keep him in good spirits down the road.
If the Texans decide that they aren’t willing to meet the price demands of Clowney’s representatives, they could opt to trade him and earn draft compensation similar to Kansas City Chiefs management did with 2014 former first-round pass rusher Dee Ford.
Clowney had another productive season and started in 14 of the 15 games he was active in the Texans’ regular season. He finished with 47 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, nine sacks, 21 quarterback hits, three fumble recoveries, and a defensive touchdown.