The Jadeveon Clowney Sweepstakes
August 23rd, 2019
Bucs a potential suitor?
This seems like a no-brainer to Joe. Then again, it likely means it won’t happen.
With Jason Pierre-Paul sidelined with his neck injury — who knows how long and maybe forever — the Bucs are in dire need of someone, anyone to consistently get to the passer.
Stop hitting Joe over the head that the 34 defense will magically give the Bucs a pass rush. Stop! If you don’t have a pass rusher, you don’t have a pass rusher. Joe sees all kinds of 34 defenses with a pass rusher. Except, of course, for the Bucs.
There happens to be a good — not great — pass rusher from a 34 defense looking for work because he is a holdout. That would be Houston’s Jadeveon Clowney.
NFL insider Jay Glazer claims at least 10 teams have called the Texans inquiring about a trade for Clowney, who has one year left on his contract. This shouldn’t stop the Bucs. They signed a boatload of free agents this offseason to one-year contracts including Ndamukong Suh, Shaq Barrett, Deone Bucannon and Breshad Perriman.
So yeah, Clowney would be a rental, meaning the ransom would be low. Look, Dee Ford (there’s another pass rusher who played in a 34 defense, imagine that?) was had for a second-round pick. So Joe is thinking Clowney, who is underrated as a run-stopper, might be available for a third-round pick. Hey, if you sweeten the pot with popular Caleb Benenoch, perhaps Clowney could be had for a fourth?
The biggest trick to nabbing Clowney is his salary, which is roughly a million dollars more than JPP’s. The Bucs would have to do salary cap massaging to land Clowney but if that’s the case, Will Gholston’s bloated salary becomes even more vulnerable.
Naturally, if the Bucs somehow obtained Clowney, JPP would be released.
And Joe isn’t sure he would want Clowney more than a year. That tricky knee issue Clowney has is troublesome and unlikely to get much better.
Could the Bucs use Clowney for a season?
Could Joe use a cold beer later this afternoon?
Is the pope Catholic?
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:15 pm
No thanks
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:18 pm
Dudes a bum. Rather take jj watt and his 18 mil broken bones. Could have had Josh Allen but we went with an undersized lb who’s strength is blitzing the A gap. For the record my grandmother can blitz an A gap in her wheelchair with her glaucoma. But ….
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:20 pm
@ DB55
I’d like to see yo g-ma blitz!?!?!?!?!
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:20 pm
It continues……the DE covet……player after player……we don’t need to give up a draft pick & pay over $15 million for a 1-year player who is already proven to be a malcontent.
Get over it.
And I find it laughable and absurd that recently there was concern about being able to keep Nassib next year if he blows up this year……..why?…..Cap problems.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:20 pm
We Need More Edge Pressure!
C’mon Jason,
Make a move for Ronald Blair III.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:21 pm
“No brainer would have been to draft Josh Allen and saved paying $25 mill per year
Jacksonville is paying only $26 mill instead of $100 mill for 4 years”
Kobe Faker
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:22 pm
JPP playing in a neck brace would be better than Clowney. Would rather wait and see what shakes loose in the cut downs.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:22 pm
Lol so he’s holding out on the Texans because he (presumed) wants a new contract, but he’ll magically end his holdout to play one season for the Bucs. Don’t know how Joes came to the conclusion that he’s a rental…. If Licht trades premium capital for a one year “rental” he should be fired on the spot.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:22 pm
So if JPP injures himself with a non football injury and the Bucs shut him down for the year, why does his salary count against the cap? Doesn’t the non football injury designation take the team off the hook for the games missed? If so, why would JPP need to be cut if he’s out for the year to pay someone like Clowney or any other player?
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:26 pm
another expensive underperforming shiny object
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:27 pm
Bucs
Grandma had 16 kids, grandpa had 22. She would whoop 6 kids at the same time with one hand while cooking dinner with the other. . Don’t sleep on grandma.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:27 pm
NFL/NFLPA labor agreement that went into effect nearly a decade ago. Players on IR get their salaries. Unless of course they are released, provided there are no guarantees in the contract. Half of JPP’s salary hit a guarantee on March 17.
There is this thing called a salary cap that teams cannot go over. If you bring in Clowney’s contract ($15.9 million) you have to fit that under the cap, somehow. Right now Bucs are like $2 million under the cap. So someone would have to go. Prime candidate would be JPP.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:30 pm
Agreed. the 3-4 isn’t some magic cure all. More blitzing isn’t necessarily the answer either especially if you have players that can’t get to the QB.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:32 pm
Having Clowney and no jpp is better than no clowney and no jpp… bucs need edge rushers and clowney can play the edge… I’d like to see a trade happen
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:32 pm
I love this agressive blitzing scheme. Attack defense is refreshing.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:36 pm
Wouldn’t a trade mean a new contract? I thought he was holding out for a new deal? Ive said months ago the Bucs should dump Gholston and Paul since he cant help us this year. Clowney would give us a crazy athlete that could be there week one and Im sure the Bucs could give themselves protection with conditions such as roster bonuses and games started ect.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:36 pm
Yeah no thanks
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:38 pm
He is a premier pass rusher. Along with Suh and Vita (if healthy) could put pressure on QB without having to blitz so often. Unfortunately pass rushers get paid and we haven’t had one since Simion Rice.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:41 pm
Joe this LB corp is f#ckin stacked with good players with Vita and Suh in the middle of the line. Clowney is overrated and would cost a lot more than he’s asking for.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:48 pm
They’ve already paid JPP $7 Million this year alone. That’s a tough hit for any owner. Reminds me of the scammer who wears around a neck brace just in case the insurance company has someone spying on them. As soon as no one is around they take the brace off and start counting the money.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:56 pm
DB55
“Could have had Josh Allen but we went with an undersized lb who’s strength is blitzing the A gap.”
Who the hell is the undersized LB??? White is 240 lb. and I doubt G-ma’s wheelchair runs a 4.4 40. You sounding like Joe still crying about Josh Allen and these ppl still bitching about Derwin James.
#keepthefaith#GO BUCS!!!
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:58 pm
For sure the team knows more about JPP then us. If they decide to make no move so they can keep JPP ya gotta think it’s for good reason.
I tend to believe yesterday’s report that if we are in a playoff chanse there’s a chance JPP could return for the final stretch. Is that more valuable then Clowney all year? Well, he is a better player and the final games are most important.
Then afterwards we can retain JPP in 2020(I think) and have an extra draft choice…………..Between Clowney & JPP the effects are much different long & short term.
Of course it’s all guess work since NFL likes to keep secrets.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:01 pm
What expensive current Buc would you cut or trade to acquire the guy?
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:06 pm
I don’t think a 4th or better draft pick is worth a one year contract. Unless we think we can win the SB in that one year.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:08 pm
Clowney’s price would be much steeper than Suh’s or GMC. And y’alls know how our Bucs are about Money..Just sayin. I would have dumped Mr JPPP..Sweeny right after his accident and went after Clowney. He’s probably gonna play with a chip on his shoulder for his next team. But..after all.. heyyy its still a..BUCLIFE baby.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:14 pm
Background–Greg Says:
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:36 pm
Wouldn’t a trade mean a new contract? I thought he was holding out for a new deal? Ive said months ago the Bucs should dump Gholston and Paul since he cant help us this year. Clowney would give us a crazy athlete that could be there week one and Im sure the Bucs could give themselves protection with conditions such as roster bonuses and games started ect.
ED Says
Clowney has passed the point where he can negotiate a contract extension. So he isn’t guaranteed to be signed for . Also, he has had injury concerns. I believe the Texans are better off holding onto him until just before trade deadline. The bucs should be looking at other (better) options. JPP’s deal came from nowhere. Perhaps another out of the blue deal is on the horizon. I hope Licht realizes that the season could crumble without another pass rusher on board.
Personally, I think there could be more value in a “Dumpster Dive.”
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:26 pm
A 3rd rounder for a one year rental for a team that isn’t expected to contend is a very steep price. I’m all for the Clowney trade, and giving up more, if they can sign him to a longer deal. But unless the front office honestly believes they’re a playoff team this year, you can’t make this deal, and with all the young guys on defense, I don’t see how this is a playoff team this year. But offer up a 2nd to Houston if you can sign him to a long deal before the trade happens. As for the cap, good teams know how to work the cap. Look at the Lightning, they work the cap while everyone else whines about how can they keep doing that. In the NFL just look at all the big deals the Cowboys have done, everyone said they’d have to blow up their team, and turns out, they rebuilt it on the fly and did a pretty good job. Good teams figure out how to get around the cap. Bad teams are afraid of the cap.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:28 pm
Cam Brate, Jordan Whitehead, Will Gholston and a 2nd/3rd round pick
Frees up space to give Clowney a new deal and it allows you to keep JPP
You’re only giving up assets that are in deep position groups (Darian Stewart and Deone Buccanon can take all Whiteheads snaps, Hudson & Auclair can emerge and Gholston can be replaced for now by committee of Allen, Nunez-Roches and Beckner)
This also gives Houston nice bridge players/prospects at areas of need for them, seeing as how they currently have no-names playing at TE, SS and at End (opposite of JJ Watt). Could be enticing for them to give Watson a guy like Cam Brate, put Gholston opposite Watt and have a young/raw but talented guy like Whitehead at SS.
Imagine this when JPP returns…
Clowney/Spence/Barrett, Suh, Vea, Allen, JPP/Nassib/Nelson
White, David/Minter, Cichy, Buccanon
Evans, Stewart, Edwards, Buccanon
VH3, Davis/ Dean, Murphy-Bunting
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:28 pm
Ed – Ah, that makes sense, I didn’t realize you couldn’t do a new deal right now. OK, well nevermind what I said.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:28 pm
The Bucs are never going to do this. If there are 10 other teams interested, Licht is scared to pull the trigger on a big deal. He’d much rather try to make his draft picks look good or grab a “value free agent” when cuts happen in a couple weeks.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:32 pm
And by giving him the (undeserved) extension, he now doesn’t have any worry about job security, so he’s even less likely to make a deal. Must be nice.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:34 pm
Josh Allen was the right pick
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:34 pm
If there truly are 10 teams then you’d almost certainly expect us to be the one holding the crappy end of the stick. overvalued and overpriced
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:39 pm
If I’m not mistaken he’s never had double sacks so far in his NFL career, and that’s with JJ Watt on the other side. Clowney has all the talent in the world,however, has had a variety of i injuries so far and his passion for the game has been questioned numerous times. Price has to be right if a trade is possible.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:40 pm
“Josh Allen was the right pick”
————
Ding ding ding!!!!!! Even if Devin White ends up being great, he cannot and will not influence the game the way a dominant pass rusher can. Obviously it’s early and we can’t judge anything yet, but so far it looks like another huge screw up by the GM that keeps getting rewarded for losing.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:40 pm
Joe has a crazy idea like this every July/August…:: nothing to see here!
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:41 pm
PriMech54
Whitehead??? Drop the bottle and sign yourself into rehab. He was second in tackles last year as a rookie and has been all over the place in the PS. Whitehead is gonna f#cking wreck it this year.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:46 pm
Yes Joe, ‘renting Clowney’ for 1 year is a no-brainer. As in ‘Anyone who pays $16 mil to rent him for 1 year has no brain’. Oooh wow, cue Jason Licht.
That’s $16 mil we’d have to come up with tomorrow. Putting JPP on the reserve NFI list AND not paying him his remaining $7.5 mil would get us up to roughly $11 mil. Whoopee. We’d still be $5 mil short, woulld still have the same OLine we have now (with NO DEPTH), and wouldn’t have any $$$ to sign FAs as fill-ins when the injury bug hits (which it always does). Yup, brilliant move. Right up Jason’s alley.
But beyond that, we couldn’t sign him next year either. Too much salary Cap $$$ already committed and about to be committed … ASSUMING that we have a good year. And if you don’t assume that we have the capacity to win it all this year, WHY SIGN CLOWNEY? We can lose without him just as easily as with him. One-year rentals (aka, Revis) rarely work out well, especially for the Bucs.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:50 pm
May want to re-read the story. Joe spelled all of this out. Sounds like you are good with the legendary pass rushing Will Gholston. Nothing screams “pass rush” like Will Gholston.
You clearly did not read the story. Bucs are filled with one-year rentals. So those are all good but Clowney is bad? Right. 🙄
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:56 pm
@Joe … “Right now Bucs are like $2 million under the cap. So someone would have to go. Prime candidate would be JPP.”
The way I understood JPP’s situation Joe, his Dead Cap value right now is $7.5 mil (what we’ve already paid him I presume). If we put him on IR (with possibility of return), then we’d owe him his whole salary (another $7.4 mil). But if we put him on the reserve NFI list, we wouldn’t have to pay him the remaining $7.4 mil (nor should we BTW). Assuming that we DON’T pay him that remaining $7.4 mil this year, we’d recover that against the Cap. Giving us the opportunity to add 1, maybe 2 OLinemen before the season starts. I’d MUCH prefer that to adding someone like Clowney.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:57 pm
I have the perfect solution.
Trade Mike Evans and his fat contract to Houston for Clowney.
ME goes home to Texas and Clowney gets a new contract.
Bucs get a pass rush.
Watson makes the team.
JPP gets to stay home.
Godwin becomes #1.
Josh Allen was the correct pick after all.
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:02 pm
Joe … Wrote that last thingie while you were writing yours obviously. And yes, I DID read the story. But apparently my response wasn’t clear.
I’d much rather see us flesh out our OLine than add Clowney for ONE year (we clearly couldn’t afford him next year, because he’ll want MORE THAN $16 mil to be sure). I personally trust TB a LOT more than you do apparently. We’ll get pressure on the QBs.
And yes the Bucs are filled with 1-year rentals (thank you Jason for our salary Cap mess, so that 1-year try-before-buy FAs are all that we can afford now). I SHOULD have restated what I was saying though as “One year, high-priced rentals (aka, Revis) rarely work out well, especially for the Bucs.” Paying $16 mil to RENT someone for one-year AND giving up a high round draft pick for the privilege is downright ridiculous UNLESS you’re making a run for the Super Bowl.
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:06 pm
%gObUcS
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:21 pm
I like the age. I like 9+ sacks the past two years. The knee is a concern, but then again he only missed two games the past two years.
Lavante David is getting old too.
So it only comes down to this ‘one year rental’ suggestion.
Is it worth giving up on JPP, Will Gholston and a 2nd round pick for a year of service?
Not to me. I mean I can easily live without Will Gholston. But JPP won’t count against the cap anyway with him being injured. There is zero need to release him this year.
Now, if they could trade even up for him by trading David? Then we could play him the year, save $10m and have room to extend him if he does well.
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:23 pm
Defense Rules Says:
“…thank you Jason for our salary Cap mess…”
I don’t think it qualifies as a mess unless it lasts more than a year. This is the first year cap has had any issues under Licht. For all we know, it could end up being the only year with a cap issue.
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:40 pm
Cobraboy – Uh, I guess you didn’t read the article or any of the comments when you asked your question. Go back, reread it and maybe you can figure it out.
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:45 pm
Lol, if the Texans were dumb enough to take Caleb and a 4th rounder, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Clowney is damaged goods though, so only an inept or seriously desperate gm would give him a big money long-term deal.
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:46 pm
TDTB: I read the article with the opinion about JPP.
Clowney is at $12m and wants a new dealio, and it will NOT be for less. JPP is at $11m. Bucs are $2m under the cap, and IMO that is not nearly enough of a cushion for injuries and scooping up cuts.
Bucs will still have to clear cap space beyond JPP. So who goes to sign Clowney and STILL have some cap reserve?
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:50 pm
Can’t we all just get along?
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:01 pm
Improve the Depth Chart
Make A Trade w/San Francisco for:
• EDGE – Ronald Blair | Age: 26 | 6-4, 272lb | Current salary: $787,602
• G – Joshua Garnett | Age: 25 | 6-5, 305lb | Current salary: $1,718,770
Make A Trade w/Seattle for:
• DT – Nazair Jones | Age: 24 | 6-5, 292lb | Current salary: $668,000
Make A Trade w/Dallas for:
• EDGE – Taco Charlton | Age: 24 | 6-6, 270lb | Current salary: 1,376,672
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:07 pm
rather go after trent williams….slide d.smith to G, move marpet to RG and our oline is fixed….
GO BUCS!!!!!
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:18 pm
813
Almost fix. Can you play RT? I bet you can play better than dotson
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:24 pm
For those who may not understand:
1. Clowney has a no trade clause. He has to approve the trade.
2. Since no long term contract was reached by July 15th, the team trading for him will not be able to redo/extend his contract during the season. Essentially letting him be a free agent next year or forcing that team to do another tag on the player.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:28 pm
Agree with Wright.
Clowney is a holdout.
If he will not play for the Texans, why would he play for us without the same long term contract he is seeking with them?
Everyone is talking about renting something that is not for rent.
Unless I’m missing something, this article makes no sense at all.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:32 pm
Seems like NE Patriots never spend a lot of money or 1st or 2nd round picks or pass rushing specialists.
Yet, they play quite a bit of 3-4 in their defensive scheme and seem to have success as a defense. So a narrative that you cannot win without a Jadeveon Clowney or Dee Ford is not supported by the most successful NFL franchise.
Plus my personal eye ball test says that JPP is better than Jadeveon.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:32 pm
DB55
lol….nawl im too light in the @$$ for the trenches…..
BA and BL are good enough to scheme around 1 weak link along the oline…..
everything had to be perfect under the previous regime….not this one….
GO BUCS!!!!
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:48 pm
DB55
Trade for Halapoulivaati Vaitai
or dust off Ryan Schraeder
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:04 pm
JPP and draft pick for holdout with a bad knee? No
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:40 pm
Joe can you clarify something? I know if a player gets hurt he still gets paid but I thought his salary did not count against the Once he is on IR?
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:48 pm
The Bucs don’t have a salary cap mess – they’re just afraid to go offscript because, you know, 2004, when Gruden “had” to release Lynch and not resign Sapp. I mean of course he spent big money on guys like Charlie Garner and Ion Gold and giving a big contract to Ellis Wyms and signing every mid-30s something offensive lineman to he could find to go sized deals – but he had no money for Lynch and Sapp…
Anywho, even if you buy that fake news agenda, the Bucs won a Super Bowl by getting into salary cap hell. You don’t manage the cap in scared way, you should always be trying to figure out how you can take advantage of the system to give yourself an edge. Issue for the Bucs is that I think they’ve set up this system so they could, when they got close, go all-in and do all the bad contracts, etc with the idea being they’d have a 2-year window or so, but they haven’t been close enough in that time to pull the trigger. So we wait, and wait, and wait.
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:24 pm
LUVMYBUCS – I appreciate your trade talk and speculating.
But Taco, his name is stupid and players with stupid names always bust. I said this before that draft when people said we should draft him, and sure enough, he’s been a bust.
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:27 pm
What’s the over on the number of series that Bucs offensive starters will play. I’m guessing it’s 2 – and if I was betting, I’d say it’s a push.
I’d like to see the starters get some action, in particular on defense where I’d love them to show a little more of the playbook.
However based on what I saw last night with teams not playing their starters or pulling them quickly, I have a feeling Griffin is going to put up another big game against 4th stringers.
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:48 pm
Rod
His government name ain’t much better (Vidauntae) Charlton.
But I get your point.
I just don’t feel Dallas is using him properly.
IMO he’s a stand up, outside linebacker in a 3-4 defensive scheme.
At least that’s how Don Brown used him at Michigan.
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:59 pm
@Rod Munch … “Issue for the Bucs is that I think they’ve set up this system so they could, when they got close, go all-in and do all the bad contracts, etc with the idea being they’d have a 2-year window or so, but they haven’t been close enough in that time to pull the trigger.”
So would it be fair to ask if TWO back-to-back 5-11 seasons is almost close enough Rod?
August 23rd, 2019 at 8:27 pm
Why rent a guy for a year if we aren’t contending for a SB?