Jadeveon Clowney officially finds new NFL landing spot with AFC South team
Finally, Jadeveon Clowney is set to have a new NFL home.
The Tennessee Titans officially announced the signing of the former South Carolina standout. It will be Clowney’s third NFL team and reunites him with Titans coach Mike Vrabel.
Clowney will be reuinted with Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who was Clowney’s position coach and defensive coordinator when he was with the Houston Texans. Clowney had his best season in 2017 under Vrabel when he had 59 tackles and 9 1/2 sacks.
“When I coached J.D., J.D. was prepared,” Vrabel told reporters this offseason. “We did a lot with him and put him in a lot of different places to try and have him help us affect the game. And he played extremely hard. We asked him to do a lot, and he did do a lot for us. I never had an issue with J.D.’s effort on the field.”
Speculation on where Clowney would land has been going on since March. He had to sign this weekend because of having to go through COVID-19 protocols, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The start of the NFL regular season is next week.
In addition to finding a new team, Clowney also fired his agent Bus Cook according to multiple reports. Clowney’s contract is a one-year deal between $12-15 million based on incentives, according to Rapoport. Clowney was reportedly asking for $15 million a season.
The former No. 1 overall selection spent last season with the Seattle Seahawks after being traded from the Houston Texans in the offseason. He played in 11 games with Seattle, recording 31 tackles, three sacks and returning an interception for a touchdown.
Clowney spent his first five seasons with the Texans and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection from 2016-18. He had 29 sacks in his final four years in Houston.
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Clowney was the No. 1 recruit in the country coming out of South Pointe High School in Rock Hill for the Class of 2011. He picked South Carolina in a nationally televised ceremony.
One of Clowney’s signature moments with the Gamecocks was his tackle, dubbed “The Hit” against Michigan’s Vincent Smith in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2013. He won an ESPY award for Player of the Year for the tackle.
This story was originally published September 5, 2020 at 6:57 PM.
