I liked @Spacemoth's post, and agree with most of what he wrote, but that stood out to me too. He did not get through last year fine, and another year like it---62 sacks!----might cripple his career. I do think the line he mentioned, if healthy, might be competent. It won't be great, but it conceivably could work to adequately protect Watson. It'd be nice if we had more evidence of it working or not than a few quarters of the Detroit game. Clowney and the need for a LT are really two separate discussions. For Clowney, he may want the bag, but he cannot get it from anyone until next year. He claims to want to play here. Take him at his word, renegotiate his current franchise tag offer to a one year deal for a touch less money and give him a no-trade clause. The defense is better with him than without him. Now he can play, confident he won't lose leverage for his negotiation next offseason, when the Texans hopefully have a GM, and not this ridiculous mess in their front office. If the Texans need a LT, there are two choices, that are essentially equal, albeit Tunsil is cheaper. Play them off each other. So far, it looks like Clowney, and a first won't get Tunsil. See if the draft pick equivalent (or players: do the Texans have surplus the Redskins might want?) gets them to think about moving on from Williams. Last I checked, he was still adamant about never playing their again. Break up this problem into two parts, stop acting desperate, and see if that makes things easier to accomplish. Oh, and cut Kalil already. Or play him. But pick one or the other.
Timing is a lot of life. Clowney should get back what Clark brought back, but we aren't in the offseason before the draft anymore. Stuff gets more expensive if the seller thinks you have to have it. Idiotic of them to trade Tunsil anyway in their position, but if the Texans think he's the next Herschel Walker, why not take them up on it? I'm boggled that the Redskins won't move on from Williams for similar compensation.
And then it was, 'blink', Eric Winston's gone, Mike Brisiel's gone, and Chris Myers amazingly re-signed with a hometown discount. Poof, there went the line. It was really, really good too. (Per Football Outsiders, 4th in run blocking in 2010 and 11, 12th in pass pro in 2010. Weirdly bottom third in 2011.) Might've been different had Brown, Jones, Brooks stayed. I hate autocorrect...
The Jets gave LeVeon Bell $35 million in guaranteed money despite him sitting out the entire 2018 season. His holdout didn’t prevent him from getting a lucrative contract this offseason, and the same would be true for Clowney. Just because you think every NFL player should be happy to play a sport for a living and make millions doesn’t make the player greedy for wanting to make what the market is willing to pay for his level of production. How do you know that Jadeveon Clowney didn’t negotiate in good faith? It could simply be that his representation and the Texans couldn’t find common ground in salary negotiations or that the Texans wanted a prove-it year before shelling out big money for him. And, yes, every NFL player deserves guaranteed money in their contract. That’s the only amount of money they are entitled to if their team cuts them for whatever reason. I never said I knew LeVeon Bell’s opinion on his holdout. What I said is holding out didn’t prevent him from landing a lucrative contract relative to his peers at his position. Which is a fact. Also, according to this article by ESPN: Deadline passes without new deal for Clowney, the Texans lined up Clowney at defensive end 729 times and linebacker 33 times in 2018. So, yes, he should be classified at the position he played the vast majority of the time last season. Multiple reporters have reported in the last week that Clowney was expected to report this week and sign his franchise tender, but changed course after he learned the team was trying to trade him again. I guess those reporters covering the Texans, Dolphins and the NFL are all wrong. Clowney isn’t throwing a temper tantrum. He is exercising his leverage at the moment, with the understanding that he may lose a year of pay as a result. He’s taking a long-term approach over a short-term one, and he will get paid handsomely once he gets to free agency, regardless. Jadeveon Clowney is one of the top 5 players at his position. No, he’s not in the class of Aaron Donald or Khalil Mack, but he’s in the tier right below. And you don’t get to decide whether he has a right to complain about his contract or not. Also, it’s your opinion that the NFL is run better than the NBA. That’s not a fact. Sure, to you and I, one year at the league minimum in a professional sports league would allow us and our families to be set for life. However, most human beings, regardless of profession, want to make what they believe to be fair market value for their services in their industry. That’s all Clowney or any other player that chooses to hold out is doing. By your logic, every player in professional sports should be happy with their league minimum, never complain, and just be good servants to their franchises and owners. Yet, you are free to leave your job at any time and negotiate a new salary on your terms with any potential employers.
It's easy to make trades by ourselves in our living rooms. Actual trades require a second team who values your asset and is willing to meet your asking price. It's been reported they floated his availability near the draft... Maybe the Texans overvalued Clowney? Maybe they had a different expectation of their future together? If the Bengals and Raiders truly valued/wanted Clowney, why didn't they call the Texans?... I have no issue trading within the conference; but trading with a team (KC) that is already likely among the best in your conference? That's different. The Texans should not engage the Chiefs or Patriots or Chargers or Steelers unless the return is extraordinary. Cincinnati? Miami? Trade away.
What the hell did you expect? This stuff isn’t rocket science. If Clowney is traded somewhere it is because he wanted to play for that team. The Texans already wasted whatever leverage they had and have erroded any real value Clowney had from other teams. The Texans have line issues for half a decade. The Pats go out and add 3 rotation offensive linemen in a week.
Yawn. I don't think this is going to be resolved anytime soon. Maybe if Clowney misses a few paychecks, or if the Texans lose a few early season games, then maybe someone blinks and something gets done. I'm tired of all this.
How much would he got had he not held out, and how long before he recovers the money lost during his holdout? Strawman argument. If he didn't want the tag then he didn't achieve it. That's what I know. 6 players got tagged this year, it's not that hard to avoid. The franchise tag is for players like Clowney. I also know that the team wanted to retain Clowney. Otherwise they wouldn't tag him. What are the odds the team didn't negotiate in good faith? With a viewpoint like that, there's no hope for you. Why should a cut player receive money? If every signed player got guaranteed money, teams wouldn't give players a shot to make the team. The game would suffer, talented players wouldn't get their breaks and no useful purpose would be served. It's idiotic. Getting another contract is not proof that his holdout didn't "dramatically hurt his value". Whatever that means. Who's to say what's a DE and OLB? A hand down? You are a classic example of someone working backwards from a conclusion to find things to argue about. If the Texans did something improper then Clowney should have filed a grievance. They did not, yet you argue it because it suits you to do so. Clowney played how ever many downs he played. The Texans submitted what they were required to based on the labor argreement. Prove otherwise or STFU about it. No one cares that you can find an ESPN article that supports your narrative. Now you're thinking! Now maybe open your mind regarding all the other garbage opinions you hear in the press and forums and regurgitate here. Clowney's situation is Clowney's fault and he's making it worse.
That's your opinion, don't go forcing it down other people's throat like it's a fact. Personally in my opinion, if the Texans weren't such a fked up organization there wouldn't have been this much drama over Clowney to begin with. We have no GM to handle this sht, and asking the BoB (one of the most pettiest fker) to negotiate as the GM in good faith is just fking stupid. There's a reason why most organizations keep gm and hc separated. Currently at the moment Clowney could do whatever hell he wants b/c he has all the leverage and sadly he's making it worse for the Texans.
He won't sign the tender cause he doesn't want the Texans to turn around and trade him, right? I get the Texans need a LT badly, but they can't make JD sign the tender. Just promise him (contractually?) he won't get traded to Miami, ask him to sign the tender, and at least have a better defense, and move on...
Let me get this straight, you're suggesting common sense to be used by a guy that goes by tea pot? =)
Bell lost between $35-$50 million dollars from his holdout. From the money the Steelers offered, to the missed season, and the contract he signed with the Jets. He will NEVER make that up.
