Will Stars Align for Jadeveon Clowney, Seahawks Reunion?
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Dallas Cowboys defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (42) sacks Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) in the first half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images [/caption]
When general manager John Schneider and the Seattle Seahawks swing and miss on a coveted player in free agency, they always keep the door open for the future, further evidenced by a pair of signings made by the team this offseason.
Per the players themselves, EDGE rusher Dante Fowler Jr. and cornerback Noah Igbinoghene received significant interest from the Seahawks as free agents prior to the 2025 season, but they wound up signing with the Cowboys and Commanders respectively. Fast forwarding one year later, the defending Super Bowl champs made a run at each of them once again, this time signing both players to one-year contracts to help offset the departures of Boye Mafe and Riq Woolen.
Keeping that in mind, a report from Aaron Wilson of KPRC Houston indicating the Seahawks have interest in a reunion with defensive end Jadeveon Clowney shouldn’t come as a surprise at all. Last summer, Schneider made overtures to the former No. 1 overall pick, who previously played in Seattle back in 2019, but he ultimately opted to sign with Dallas midway through training camp.
Like Fowler and Igbinoghene, who each had ties to defensive coordinator Aden Durde at previous stops, Clowney has extensive connections to the Seahawks’ current coaching staff. Most notably, he played for coach Mike Macdonald with the Ravens in 2023, turning in one of his finest seasons being deployed in the defensive guru’s scheme.
Coming off a disappointing season in Cleveland, Clowney re-emerged as an all-around force in Baltimore, racking up 78 pressures, 9.5 sacks, and 19 quarterback hits in a resurgent campaign for the league’s top scoring unit. Macdonald kept him primarily on the outside with 724 snaps out wide, allowing him to be an athlete setting the edge and hunting down quarterbacks, finishing the year ranked 11th among EDGE defenders with a 16.7% Pass Rush Win Rate.
Clowney also dominated as a run defender for the Ravens, ranking ninth in run stop rate (9.6%) while totaling 17 run stops and posting a rock-solid average of 1.9 yards of depth per tackle, racking up nine tackles for loss in the process.
Given that track record excelling in Macdonald’s scheme and the fact Clowney quietly had a stellar season producing 8.5 sacks in 13 games with the Cowboys a year ago, renewed interest in the 33-year-old makes sense on multiple fronts. Even after signing Fowler in June to replace Mafe, there’s no such thing as having too many good defensive linemen and his flexibility as an outside linebacker and traditional defensive end would help ease some of the burden on other vets such as Demarcus Lawrence and Uchenna Nwosu, keeping everyone fresh.
At the same time, Clowney only played one season with the Seahawks before enduring a long waiting period in free agency seeking his next contract that went deep into the summer, ultimately signing with the Titans in 2020. He also has a lengthy injury history dating back to early in his career with the Texans when he had microfracture surgery on his knee, battled various ailments in his short time in Seattle, and also sat out nine games with the Titans in his lone season there.
It has also been reported since his departure that Clowney would prefer not to play in the Pacific Northwest again, though that appears to be all speculation at this juncture. In the present, Macdonald’s presence on the sidelines could be the recruiting tool necessary to bring him on board if the two sides can agree on a contract during the midst of training camp, which should be doable considering the franchise has $25 million in available cap space currently, per OverTheCap.com, and he has been signing affordable one-year deals in recent years.
As has been the case for Clowney on a seemingly yearly basis since he left Seattle, there won’t be a rush for the player to sign in late July, as he likely wants to land with a new team after avoiding the dog days of summer in training camp and has eyes on being ready for Week 1. A reunion with the Browns has also been pitched as a possibility by Wilson, suggesting there may be multiple suitors for his services.
But at this stage of his career, if Clowney wants to compete for a Super Bowl and his two options boil down to the Seahawks and Browns, the decision should be an easy one. Assuming interest in him remains genuine for Schneider and Macdonald and contention sits atop the wish list, signs point to a reunion being a viable possibility this time around after swinging and missing a year ago.
