No Clowney Around

Ask any observer of the Ravens what they think the defense needs most and the words “pass rush” will spill out of their pie holes faster than Miles Garrett leaving Daniel Faalele in the dust following a simple one-arm bull rush. And despite the promise of second-year player Mike Green, rookie Zion Young, newly acquired Trey Hendrickson and the possible return of Nnamdi Madubuike, some believe you can’t have enough good pass rushers. One that is available for the right price is a player the Ravens are quite familiar with. Enter Jadeveon Clowney.

Let’s cut right to it. Jadeveon Clowney is 33 years old, he’s played for seven NFL teams, he’s still unsigned as we approach July, and he just put together one of the more quietly impressive pass-rush seasons you’ll see from a rotational edge defender. If you’re a front office that needs help off the edge — and there are plenty of them — the question isn’t whether Clowney can still play. The tape says he can. The question is whether your organization has the football intelligence to see past his age and his résumé of one-year deals.

Look, the numbers don’t lie. In 13 games and just 44% of the defensive snaps with Dallas last year, Clowney rang up 8.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and 40 pressures. Per Pro Football Focus, he earned a 79.2 overall grade — 18th among 115 qualified edge defenders — and his pass-rush grade of 80.6 ranked 15th. His run-defense grade checked in at 70.6, good for 26th. None of those are fringe numbers. Those are the grades of a legitimate contributor. And his 16.7% pass-rush win rate tied a career high, ranking 12th among qualifying edge defenders.

He signed a one-year, $3.45 million deal with the Cowboys last September — well below market, and only after sitting unsigned through training camp. According to Spotrac’s market value calculator, Clowney’s current market value for 2026 sits at $5.7 million. That’s a bargain-bin price for a player who can still impact a game the way he does.

So why is he still sitting at home?

Part of it could be attributed to the NFL’s institutional bias against aging pass rushers, even when production says otherwise. And part of it — frankly — is that Clowney has always done this. He lets the market come to him. In four of the five offseasons before last year, he didn’t sign until March 27 or later. He’s comfortable with the waiting game. He’s made over $99 million in his NFL career, per OverTheCap. He’s not desperate.

But he’s also not interested in being a couch free agent again. He’s said publicly that he wants to be in a camp. He wants a full offseason. He wants the work. And that matters, because when Clowney signed with Dallas mid-September last year — missing all of training camp and the preseason — he started slow before finishing strong. A full offseason with a team could unlock something even better.

So who signs him?

The Green Bay Packers make the most football sense right now. Micah Parsons — the crown jewel of that Dallas trade — isn’t expected back from his torn ACL until at least mid-October. The Packers need a veteran presence on the edge to bridge that gap. Clowney has said publicly that he can play in any scheme: “I done played in every scheme, ain’t no scheme I can’t play in, 3-4 to 4-3 to whatever.” That’s not bravado. His career résumé backs it up.

The Ravens have a shot although their need isn’t as great as Green Bay’s. That said, GM Eric DeCosta appears to have pumped the brakes on a Clowney reunion. “We’ve got Trey [Hendrickson], we feel really good about him. We got Tavius [Robinson]. We got Mike Green. And we just drafted Zion [Young], not to mention Adisa [Isaac]. So, it’s hard to give these guys enough reps as it is at times.”

I’m sorry but Adisa Isaac is NOT a reason to temper thoughts on bringing Clowney back for a second tour. Maybe that’s EDC’s attempt at public posturing. He did, however, hedge his bet a bit.

“Do I think we could use a [veteran] like that talent-wise? Of course. … It then becomes, though, does that now stunt the development of some of these younger players?”

Adisa stunts his own development with his lack of availability. No one else.

Others in the mix

The Carolina Panthers finished last season with the league’s second-lowest pressure rate (16.5%) and third-fewest sacks (30), and while they signed Jaelan Phillips to a four-year, $120 million deal, they could arguably use more pass-rushing help alongside Phillips, Nic Scourton, and Princely Umanmielen. Clowney played there in 2024. He knows the building.

The Detroit Lions signed DJ Wonnum on a one-year deal but the edge rotation behind Aidan Hutchinson remains thin, and Clowney’s Spotrac market value of $5.7 million fits squarely within what Detroit could offer.

The San Francisco 49ers ranked last in the NFL in team sacks in 2025 — their 1.18 sacks per game was the lowest by a team that made the postseason — making them a need-driven fit. But their edge room is in flux with multiple players recovering from injuries, and scheme fit under the new defensive regime needs evaluation.

Bottom Line on the Ravens Chances

The Ravens aren’t the likeliest destination right now, but they’re not out of it. DeCosta is the kind of GM who says one thing publicly and does another when the right deal materializes. Clowney played some of his best football in purple. Lamar has publicly stated that he wants him. The cap room exists. If Green and Young struggle early in training camp — and given Green’s difficult rookie season, that’s a real possibility — don’t be shocked if DeCosta quietly makes a call. It wouldn’t be the first time a Ravens “we’re good” turned into a late-summer signing.

What’s a fair deal?

Here’s where you have to be honest about what Clowney is and isn’t. He’s not a 60-snap-per-game starter anymore. He’s a high-impact rotational edge defender — dangerous on passing downs, still sound against the run, and a veteran locker room presence.

One year, $6 to $7 million, with modest incentives tied to snap counts and sack totals. That’s the deal. It’s above Spotrac’s $5.7 million market value projection, but it accounts for the fact that Clowney outperformed his last deal by a wide margin. It’s also well above the $3.45 million he took from Dallas — which, frankly, was the Cowboys getting a steal.

You’re not paying for upside. You’re paying for a known commodity: a three-down defender who ranked in the top 15 of pass-rush grade and the top 12 in pass-rush win rate among all edge defenders in 2025, on a defense that wasn’t exactly surrounding him with talent.

Whoever signs Jadeveon Clowney this summer is going to look smart by October.

And hopefully it’s the team that calls 1101 Russell Street home.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/06/29/lombardis-way/clowney-to-the-ravens/