Kind of like the "Stagger Lee," or something like that. In fact, the two coaches who made those calls remind me of each other.
If you didn't know more of the back story, I'd say "really" to this info. In the sense that sure, the Texans were trying to trade you, you aren't reporting. It's a dumb road block. You won't report, they'll try and trade you. You do report, they'll stop trying to trade you. That said, I know the backstory and that this is BillyO and the Texans.
Listening to Adam Schein, and he's going on about how good/important a player Clowney is. I like Schein, usually agree with his takes. He's also going on about how badly the Texans have f'd this up - and that's obvious. Do you view Clowney as that good/important? I'm less than upset that he might not play for the Texans again... more about the fact they've screwed up getting any value for him. Reminder, as Adam Schein noted, the Seahawks got a 2019 first, a 2020 second and a swap of 2019 thirds for Frank Clark. They would have had the assets to guarantee Dillard for example. They should all be fired.
It all depends on what they get for him. If they can turn him into a 10-year starter at LT, it's all good. If they get get several key pieces - picks, players - it's all good. If they deal him out of some sort of spite and get $.50 on the dollar.........
At this point I hope they keep him...not because I'm enamored with him, but because I think he has more value than this franchise will be able to get for him in return at this point in time.
The idea of leveraging him to get a LT is smart.... were this, you know, March. While I'd still take that as a result, it's less smart doing it now, 10 days before the start of the season.
The Luck retirement has to play into the revised calculus (fine, maybe more like checkers with this crew), right?! If you can dominate your division with Brissett, Foles, and Mariota/Tannehill as the QBs, you stand a good chance to make the playoffs. BO'B can get pants'd against the tier 1 clubs, dominate the division, eek out close wins against the tier 2 clubs, and win the division/make the playoffs. He can't be that obtuse, can he? Suck it up and "do what's best for the team," O'B!! The Texans are more likely than not a better team with Clowney than without JD this year!
It makes no sense to trade for Jadeveon Clowney unless you think one pass rusher can put you over the top to win the Super Bowl this year. The Dolphins could trade a pick for him, he helps them win a couple more games so they move down in the draft order, then he signs elsewhere. — Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) August 28, 2019 Agree , even if they sign him long term. Giving up picks for Jadeveon Clowney makes no sense RE: #Dolphins rebuild. https://t.co/iYnXHZn1Pb — Evan Silva (@evansilva) August 28, 2019 There is also a reason why the #Texans are so willing to part with him. Not a guy you build around. And probably not a guy you sign to a massive long-term deal. — Evan Silva (@evansilva) August 28, 2019
Spoiler Charles Robinson & Terez Paylor CR: Philadelphia has been floating around out there for awhile. It's a place where Clowney would really like to go. This is a conversation I've had with someone there in personnel dating back to the eve of training camp. I've asked multiple times, where does this guy fit? What I get out of this conversation is they believe he has immense talent, he's a $20M per year player at minimum but there are a couple of problems. They don't know how he'd fit into their long term cap structure. Secondly, ask yourself is he right for our culture? They've strived for players who love playing football. That question has dogged Clowney going back to South Carolina. I'll now kick this to you, sometimes firing an agent signals some chaos about you as a player which teams don't always like. He fires Bus Cook who historically is not seen as a bad agent. Given all these other things teams are questioning, now you add in him firing his agent, what does it tell you? TP: It speaks to the disconnect between what Jadeveon thinks he should be making & the reality. If you wanted to get that big money deal, you better have more than 9.5 sacks in your contract season. If you look at his sack record: 0 in 2014, 4.5 in 2015, 6 in 2016, 9.5 in 2017, 9 last year. That's solid. His pressures are solid but if you're trying to break the bank, that needs to be 15 sacks, top three in pressures. If I'm another team, I'm concerned the team that owns your rights doesn't want to pay you. That was something the Chiefs had to wonder about. Frank Clark, on tape, hell of a player. And they chose him over Clowney. You have to wonder why don't they want to pay this 26 year old stud? At this point, he fires his agent, they don't want to pay him. You're gonna have to do what the Chiefs did. Do your research, see if you're comfortable with the person and his fit into your culture & coaching staff and if you are, there's no doubting the talent. Even if he doesn't get 100% out of his ability, he can still get 80%-85% and that still might help you. If you're the Eagles (Brandon Graham, Vinny Curry, Derek Barnett), can Clowney help them? If you're the Eagles, would you make this move? CR: There's no doubt he'd help the Eagles. Being in Houston, I can tell you this about Clowney, early in his career there was definitely talk about his maturity level, learning how to be a professional (day-to-day details, being there all the time, giving 100% all the time, giving it all the time), he spent time with DJ Swearinger. It got to the point they felt they need to get DJ out of there for Clowney. Not a good sign. That said, over the years, the maturity has become less of a conversation. They've also wanted to see more from a production standpoint & see him healthy. For the Texans, part of this, they watch film. Watt is drawing a ton of double teams & attention. Clowney, 9 sacks. They have been waiting for that flurry season. Frank Clark, he has that edge. I don't know that Clowney has that edge as football player, at least talking to people with the Texans. There's a lot of money wrapped up in this & a sort of why are we still waiting for that last 5%, which takes you from a really good player to great player. If I was the Eagles, I'd be worried about money, draft compensation and will he show up & then flip the switch and get where he hasn't gotten in Houston, considering there's no JJ Watt here? TP: I'll play devil's advocate. It does matter when you look at a depth chart if the players on the depth chart are guys of the current regime. Brandon Graham just got a massive extension. Barnett they have to make a decision on the fifth year option soon. Reps do matter in terms of figuring out if you want a guy. If you bring in Clowney, how much would that affect Barnett? If not him, maybe it affects Josh Sweat? This is a guy that needs reps too. They drafted another 4th round end in Shareef Miller. Vinny Curry they brought him in. Do you think they'd have concerns bringing in a player like that that might command the snaps and whether or not that'd affect the development of some of the young guys they like? CR: It's a production business. If you believe he's All-Pro or Pro Bowl level player, you're not scared to put him in front of those players. You want depth anyway. This comes down to draft compensation, salary structure & having to juggle things earlier. You add Clowney, you're juggling next season. They have to decide their culture & making sure they want to bring in players who won't affect younger players. They want to see a guy who wants to play football. TP: The picks could be significant. I'd imagine the Texans don't want to trade Clowney for anything less than what the Seahawks got for Frank Clark (1st, future 2nd, swap 3rds). That's a hefty exchange. Chiefs were comfortable giving that up. There's no doubt how hard Frank Clark plays. He's playing his ****ing ass every game. You're not worried on field about him. If you're a team wondering about Clowney, will we get a return investment on the field? Do you think Clowney might power it down once he gets paid? That's a question teams have to ask. CR: It's a fair question. When you're not signing your own free agent...the Eagles, it's one thing giving money to your own free agent. You don't know any of that about Clowney. You're not only giving up draft assets, the money and not knowing what he'll be. He's been passed over. In the middle of the trade with Seattle & Kansas City, the Texans tried to get involved. They tried to snake the deal. TP: Chiefs turned it down. They wanted Frank Clark. Ain't no doubt what he'll give you on Sunday. CR: We'll see how it plays out. If this guy was a hot commodity, he's had an entire offseason to be a hot commodity and that has never materialized which is a problem.
Reading between all the rumors, backstories, news, etc...Here’s my (hopeful) take on everything: 1. Albert Breer reported that Cook/Clowney made peace with playing under the tag last spring. Subsequent rumors were that Clowney would report after the Cowboys game substantiates that somewhat IMO. 2. Texans explore trades during the draft but the returns are not worth it. 3. With Clowney on board with the tag, no further negotiations happen and deadline for a new deal passes. 4. Training camp rolls around and Kalil looks like hot garbage. BoB starts exploring trades again, this time for OL help. 5. Rumors start swirling that a deal is done with Miami. At the same time, we get a Miami insider reporting that Tunsil is available. 6. Granato reports that Clowney rejected deal with a Miami. Next day Miami outlets report that Tunsil is not available. 7. The following weekend Albright and McClain believe a deal has been agreed upon and imminent. 8. Clowney is pissed, fires Cook, and everything gets tabled. 9. Clowney realizes he's good as gone and meets with the Dolphins. Summary: BoB had a deal with the Dolphins for Tunsil. Clowney balks at the trade and Dolphins go into damage control and say Tunsil is not available. Clowney realized his options are limited and agrees to at least meet with the Dolphins. The deal is still agreed upon and just waiting on Clowney now...
At this point, screw the thread title. I'd rather lock Clowney up on a front loaded contract while we have the cap... Otherwise, Obrien is bound to screw this up.
That would be the smart thing to do here Front load with a large signing bonus and get him locked up.
Been saying this all off-season. Can pay him now and make it easy to cut in two years if he's injured/ineffective while preserving future cap room for the Watson/Watt/Nuk extensions. A competent GM should be able to figure it out. Can we hire someone on for a 3 week consultant engagement to help clean up this mess?!
