Jadeveon Clowney should be Houston Texans Top Priority Moving Forward

Edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney should now be the number one priority for the Houston Texans with training camp just around the corner.

Houston Texans 2014 first overall pick of the NFL Draft Jadeveon Clowney has remained away from the team’s facilities as he’s trained separately as he continues to improve on his successful first five seasons in the NFL. Unlike the majority of their first-round draft selections, Texans were unable to work out a deal with Clowney and placed the franchise tag on their pass rusher.

Clowney is the second player in franchise history to receive the tag after the Texans coincidentally placed it on former South Carolina cornerback Dunta Robinson in 2009. There was some controversy regarding Clowney’s future with Texans’ former general manager Brian Gaine reportedly shopping him to multiple teams around the league.

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Trading Clowney to another NFL team was not going to make Houston a better team for the upcoming season especially with Clowney being one of the better pass rushers in the Texans’ defense with his freakish athleticism.

Clowney has 29 sacks in 62 games he’s played since suffering a knee injury in his rookie season that forced him to undergo microfracture surgery. His ability to destroy offensive game plans and shut down the team’s opposing running game is an underrated factor that he brings to the table.

He has 205 tackles and 64 tackles for loss in his five seasons with the Texans. He has been a productive player for the Texans and has helped the defense force game-changing turnovers.

Clowney has four forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, and two of those fumble recoveries returned for a touchdown. It’ll be a disservice and a distraction for the Texans to not work out a long term deal with Clowney before training camp after he has proved he can be a difference maker in the Texans defense.

Texans failed to keep most of their defensive playmakers in free agency, but they have the ability to get back on track by retaining Clowney to a deal that keeps him in Houston for the foreseeable future as they continue to build a roster for a Super Bowl run.