Today, the Houston Texans' newly re-acquired defensive end in Jadeveon Clowney reflected on his previous tenure with the franchise from 2014-2018.
To spur on his trip down memory lane, the question was posed to Clowney about whether or not he harbors any bitterness toward the organization about his unceremonious departure from the team via trade to the Seattle Seahawks ahead of the 2019 season. Being quoted by KPRC 2 Texans Insider Aaron Wilson, Clowney chuckled while saying things like,
"Ain't no hard feelings. It was just Bill O'Brien. We bumped heads. I was 20 years old. When I left here, I started taking care of myself, developing my game, having fun".
While Clowney's run-in's with O'Brien during their overlapping time periods with the team is not new to learn about, it's still significant considering Clowney himself is confirming the level of impact those moments had in the shaping of his career. And by extension, what might've help set the stage for a return to the city that originally drafted him.
Clashes with former head coach Bill O'Brien help paved the way for Jadeveon Clowney's exit from the Houston Texans
Before Clowney was shipped out of Houston in favor of landing names like defensive end Jacob Martin and linebacker Barkevious Mingo in 2019, multiple reports began surfacing about concerns about the work ethic and "culture-fit" of Clowney in the eyes of his then-head coach in O'Brien.
Before we could all blink, the former 2014 first-overall pick was then out of town and in a Seahawks jersey for the 2019-2020 season. From that point on, Clowney would then play for the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys in a series of short-term moves. And while him bouncing around the league might've seemed highly volatile on the surface, his most recent three-year stretch (2023-2025) has actually been the best run of professional football of his career.
Jadeveon Clowney has been playing his best football en route back to the Houston Texans
Across his three years with the Ravens, Panthers and Cowboys respectively, Clowney has accumulated:
- 44 games played
- 130 Total tackles (72 solo, 58 assist)
- 23.5 Sacks
- 3 Forced fumbles (three recovered)
- 13 passes defended
- 151 quarterback pressures (15.8% average QB pressure rate)
Just last season, he racked up 8.5 sacks (third-highest amount of his career) and a 18.1 quarterback pressure rate, which was fifth-highest in the NFL.
After being Dallas' leading sack-getter in 2025, Clowney made it a point to call up Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans to inform him of his desire to don Deep Steel Blue once more in what is virtually a "Super Bowl or bust" season for the organization. Funny enough, it seems as though both Clowney and the Texans as a franchise have each had to do their own "growing up" over the years in their time apart.
As Houston has undergone a transformation from a rudderless ship from 2020-2023, to a perennial AFC threat from 2023 to now, its newfound culture and winning ways have been a magnet for players like Clowney who're in pursuit of reaching new heights within their legacies.
Both sides want a Super Bowl ring, and the various trials and tribulations experienced by both sides as a precursor have led to their reunification en route to making that happen.
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