NFL Free Agency 2020: 5 Teams Jadeveon Clowney could sign with
Jadeveon Clowney is the biggest piece remaining in NFL free agency and these would be the best spots for him to sign whenever he makes his decision.
When the bell tolled and 2020 NFL free agency began, Jadveon Clowney was the biggest non-quarterback on the market. Expected to yield a game-changing contract after his one-year stint with the Seattle Seahawks, Clowney was supposed to be the next edge rusher to get a big payday. Yet, almost one month into free agency and he remains unsigned.
Considering that we’re well into the second wave of free agency, that may come as a surprise. However, as the spread of COVID-19 has limited teams’ ability to meet with players, perhaps Clowney’s injury history could play into why he remains without a team. It could also be that teams, especially now, were and are unwilling to meet his initial financial demands as he was initially asking for $20 million or more per year.
Whatever the case, Clowney will sign and, if healthy, he’ll be an impact player in the NFL. But with reports on Tuesday, that the Seahawks are almost surely not bringing him back, that opens the door for other teams to swoop in and grab him.
So where could Jadveon Clowney eventually land in free agency? These five teams would all make sense for the former No. 1 overall pick.
5. Buffalo Bills
Even if Lorenzo Alexander hadn’t retired, the Buffalo Bills would’ve needed more of a long-term plan on the edge with veterans Jerry Hughes and Trent Murphy occupying the top spots on each edge on the depth chart. And though the signing of Mario Addison in free agency will help it doesn’t fully do the trick of solidifying that area on an overall tremendous defense.
The issue for the Bills — in a manner of speaking — is that they no longer have a first-round pick to address their need on the edge. Granted, they filled another need in trading for Stefon Diggs but it leaves them without a real opportunity to move up in the first round for a player like K’Lavon Chaisson. And taking one in the back half of Round 2 is a crapshoot at best, especially in this draft class.
However, Buffalo could be a wild card in the Clowney stakes. While they would likely need to cut Murphy, who has been a solid but unspectacular presence in Buffalo, to make the money work on a big deal, the former No. 1 overall pick would create a force up front. Pairing him with Hughes, Addison, Ed Oliver and Star Lotulelei would make for a lethal defensive line.
In all likelihood, the Bills aren’t going to make a big move for Clowney at this point in free agency. Considering how they’ve operated, that doesn’t seem to be in their cards. But in terms of being able to make the money work and having a need, Buffalo would be one of the best situations Clowney could land in.