Houston Texans: Jadeveon Clowney yet to sign franchise tag with deadline looming

Houston Texans edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney has yet to sign his franchise tag tender that was extended towards the start of the NFL offseason.

Houston Texans 2014 first overall draft selection Jadeveon Clowney has until tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. central time to sign the franchise tag offer that the team offered him at the start of their offseason. Texans and Clowney have been unable to reach an agreement on a potential long term extension after he played on the fifth year option that was exercised on his rookie scale contract as a first-round pick.

Texans former general manager Brian Gaine was optimistic in working a deal with Clowney’s representatives before the start of their important offseason activities, but his firing may have stunted that notion. Before being fired, Gaine had also explored the avenue of shopping Clowney around the league to other NFL teams.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, Clowney is not expected to join the Texans in their early training camp and preseason activities until it is close to the start of the regular season. Clowney will not be breaking any rules by going through with that decision and will continue to train by his own account.

Clowney isn’t going to be missing out on a lot as he is already a veteran in the league, but the shape he comes into the 2019 season will be one to keep an eye on moving forward. The Texans’ financial situation with Clowney has been in disarray with players of his position with similar productivity have already signed new deals with their current teams.

Despite their inability to reach a deal before the start of this season, the Texans are relying on Clowney to continue to grow in his sixth season in the NFL for them to be competitive in 2019.

Although Clowney’s long term future with Texans remains up in the air, Clowney has the motivation to improve as he is auditioning for the other 31 teams in the NFL for a new contract.