New Jets S Bradley McDougald said he would “definitely go to bat” for the team signing his friend DE Jadeveon Clowney.
“He’s a hell of a ballplayer. I asked him, ‘Hey man, I’m over here now. You might as well come.’… At this point in his career, he does want money. But he does want to play. I would definitely go to bat for Jadeveon Clowney,” McDougald said, per Manish Mehta.
However, Rich Cimini reports that while it’s admirable that McDougald would go to bat for Clowney, the reality is that the Jets have no interest in him.
Earlier in the week, Charles Robinson reported that a number of NFL sources don’t expect Clowney to sign with a team “soon.”
One pointed out that Clowney waited until the end of August last year to report to the Texans and could take a similar approach this year.
With NFL camps across the league all open, Clowney remains the best available free agent on the market and someone who could be an impact addition for a number of teams.
The Titans have been linked to Clowney for months and are still monitoring the situation.
The veteran pass rusher reportedly has the Cowboys or Saints at the top of his personal wish list. However, it’s unclear if either team is interested or able to sign Clowney. He says he plans to sign before the start of the season.
Clowney was looking for around $20 million per year this offseason, but it seems unlikely he’ll come close to that kind of money at this point in the year.
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. 20 edge rusher out of 108 qualifying players.
We have him featured in our Top 100 Available 2020 Free Agents list.
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