Jadeveon Clowney Rejected $17M Per Year From Dolphins?

Update:

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says an involved party told him the Dolphins did not make free-agent DE Jadeveon Clowney an offer. 

Jackson adds that the Dolphins liked Clowney and would have been open to a potential deal, but not at $17 million per year. 

According to Aaron Wilson, the Dolphins discussed a multi-year deal worth $17 million a year with Seahawks free-agent DE Jadeveon Clowney. 

However, Clowney was looking for a deal closer to $20 million a season at the time and did not accept Miami’s offer. The Dolphins moved on to another target and signed DE Shaq Lawson to a three-year, $30 million deal. 

Wilson notes Clowney could find himself signing a shorter deal for less now that the first-week frenzy has subsided and he remains unsigned. Clowney’s injury history has caused some teams to be wary and the inability to conduct a proper physical due to the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t helping matters. 

The Jets and Giants have also been linked to Clowney, but recent chatter seems to indicate a return to Seattle might be the eventual outcome. 

Seattle was reportedly willing to pay Clowney as much as $18 million a year, though that offer might not still be on the table. It’s possible Clowney could opt for another one-year contract and look to hit the market again in 2021 when the cap is projected to take a sizable jump from media contracts. 

Clowney, 27, is a former No. 1 overall pick of the Texans back in 2014. He was in the final year of his four-year, $22.272 million contract when the Texans picked up his fifth-year option which paid him $12.306 million for the 2018 season. 

Houston franchised Clowney last year before trading him to the Seahawks at the start of the regular season. 

In 2019, Clowney appeared in 13 games for the Seahawks and recorded 31 tackles, three sacks, an interception, two defensive touchdowns, four forced fumbles, two recoveries and three pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 2o edge rusher out of 108 qualifying players.

We have him included in our Top 100 Available 2020 Free Agents list.