Houston Texans: Reviewing Jadeveon Clowney’s controversial trade
By Jair Lopez
The Houston Texans may have gotten the better part of the controversial trade that sent Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks before the start of the 2019 season.
Speaking of controversial trades that Bill O’Brien has done since Brian Gaine was fired from his role as general manager, the Houston Texans seem to have gotten fair value in the trade that packaged Pro Bowl pass rusher, Jadeveon Clowney, to the Seattle Seahawks.
Clowney never really lived up to the expectations of being the first overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, meanwhile, Khalil Mack, Aaron Donald, and Dee Ford have arguably had better careers up to this point on the defensive side of the field. Clowney remains a free agent after NFL teams were wary of paying him as one of the better-paid pass rushers in the league.
Texans were reportedly in talks with his agent Bus Cook in the past to work on an extension, but they were never able to see eye to eye on a deal. Houston was essentially against the clock when they placed him the tag and were hesitant to pay the price that Clowney believed he was worth with Deshaun Watson’s mega-deal, certainly awaiting down the road.
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It turns out; the Texans were only going to receive a third-round for a gifted player that still hadn’t figured out completely on the football field after suffering a serious knee injury that required microfracture surgery in his rookie season. Clowney was still producing as a defender capable of shutting down the run, but his sack numbers weren’t where teams wanted it to be for him to warrant such a deal.
Besides getting a third-rounder that O’Brien used to acquire former 2017 first-round pick, Gareon Conley, from the Oakland Raiders, Texans got two linebackers in Jacob Martin and Barkevious Mingo. Martin raised some eyebrows as a rotational pass rusher that notched 11 tackles, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in his second year in the league. Meanwhile, Mingo played his part on special teams and signed with the Chicago Bears during this offseason.
There exists the possibility the Texans could have gotten a better package if they would have traded him with a few years remaining in his rookie deal, but they did better than expected when the trade details were initially announced.
There is no question of Clowney’s talent, but these are strange times with NFL players not able to have easy access to undergo their regular physicals because of the ongoing issues involving the COVID 19 pandemic.
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It seems more challenging that the Seahawks will receive a potential third-round compensatory pick if Clowney decides to sign with another team this late in the free agency process with the 2020 NFL Draft just a few weeks away.