Jadeveon Clowney willing to sit out if he doesn’t get his price

Jadeveon Clowney might not play in 2020.

The start of the 2020 NFL season is just a few weeks away, and former Seattle Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney remains unemployed despite several consecutive seasons of proven production. Peter King is attributing Clowney’s hesitance to sign a contract to his failed attempt to receive a contract that will pay him in line with what other top pass rushers in the NFL are making.

King is reporting that Clowney, who has already been ruled out as a potential signing by teams like the Tennessee Titans who are in need of a pass rusher, is willing to pull a Le’Veon Bell and sit out the 2020 season if he is unable to secure a contract anywhere near his asking price of $15 million per season.

Jadeveon Clowney’s 2019 season was better than the stats would indicate.

Clowney was dominant at times for the Houston Texans, making three consecutive Pro Bowls and earning one All-Pro selection between the 2016 and 2018 seasons. After Bill O’Brien decided to pull the plug on Clowney and trade him to Seattle, Clowney mustered just three sacks all season long.

However, he was an integral part of a Seahawks defense that narrowly missed out on winning the NFC West and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in a road playoff game.

Clowney’s lack of sacks is a contributing factor as to why he remains unsigned. Despite the production and the heavy amount of double teams he ate up in 2019, Clowney still pressured the quarterback at the second-highest rate of his career last year. $15 million per season is by no means a small amount of money, but Clowney has all the physical tools needed to make that price tag seem like a bargain.

Even if Clowney didn’t have his best statistical season, the fact that a game-changing pass rusher is available in late August is almost criminal. Knowing what he can bring to a defense both on the stat sheet and on film, Clowney is determined to get market value for his services.