Jadeveon Clowney hopes for Carolina reunion with former teammate Stephon Gilmore
By Lior Lampert
After failing to build a competitive roster around 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young last offseason, the Carolina Panthers are doing everything they can to right their wrongs and put him in a position to succeed, including revamping the defensive unit.
The Panthers signed Carolina native and veteran edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney earlier this week to bolster their pass rush after the team traded Brian Burns to the New York Giants, and it appears they could be in the market for another homecoming.
Clowney addressed the media on Friday for the first time since signing a two-year, $20 million contract (with a max value of $24 million) with the Panthers during his introductory press conference, expressing his desire to reunite with former high school and college teammate Stephon Gilmore in Carolina.
Clowney spoke to high school teammate Stephon Gilmore before he signed with the Panthers. Says that Stephon is trying to come back to the Panthers as well. pic.twitter.com/S0RW0kD0zp
— Seth Payne (@SethCPayne) March 29, 2024
Jadeveon Clowney makes it crystal clear to Panthers he wants Stephon Gilmore in Carolina
“Before I signed, I did talk to Stephon [Gilmore],” Clowney told reporters. He pointed out that Gilmore is eyeing a return to the Panthers, whom he spent one season with in 2021, before signing with the Indianapolis Colts the following offseason. So it seems that both players may get their wish.
“I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully, he pull up and come play here. Me and him gon’ have some fun this year,” Clowney said.
Both Clowney and Gilmore were born in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where they attended and played at South Pointe High School together before overlapping at the University of South Carolina for the 2011 season, arguably the most successful year the program has seen when they went 11-2 and won the Capital One Bowl.
Adding Gilmore would make for a fun storyline and reunite him with a childhood friend, also filling a position of need for a Carolina secondary that traded starting cornerback Donte Jackson to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for Diontae Johnson. While he may not be at the level he once was when earning AP Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2019 as he enters his age-34 campaign, there were minimal signs of decline during his 2023 stint with the Dallas Cowboys.
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