The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson mentions Kenyan Drake and Kenny Stills as possible trade bait in a potential deal for unsigned Texans franchise player Jadeveon Clowney. Jackson has both Drake and Stills making the Dolphins' 53-man roster as it stands now, but that could change if Miami and Houston can come to terms on a Clowney deal. Miami has made it known its higher-priced veterans are available in the right deals, and both Drake and Stills fit that category. They also happen to play positions of need for the Texans with Houston losing Lamar Miller to a torn ACL and Keke Coutee (ankle) unlikely to be ready Week 1. Drake would form an interesting tandem with Duke Johnson. And Stills would give Deshaun Watson another reliable threat outside in what looks like a top-heavy receiver group.
There's also the possibility that Clowney decides to sit the year out and not sign the franchise tag. Or he signs it and just half-asses it. To be honest, I don't really care at this point. If Clowney was a transcendent type player that the defense truly relied upon, he'd be worth all this effort. He's not... and if he's planning on sitting out the year simply because he didn't want to be franchised, he's expendable.
Hindsight is 20/20, I get it, it's easy to say this now... But the FO is paid to make these decisions and should be judged when things don't fall right. I think it was obvious through the season that Clowney was a holdout risk, that's why we have this thread, because people felt that he was going to demand as much as possible. I'm not going to judge him for that, it's a violent game, he has a right to handle this however he wants to handle it. But right now the Texans could have handled this better and thats what I am reacting to. Hindsight is 20/20...but it should not be an excuse. When the Stros traded Fields for Alvarez there was a chance that they could have paid for it. They traded him to a team that they end up playing against in the world series, there was a chance that it came back to bite them in such a close world series...but what happened? Fields got rocked and Alvarez turns out to be a stud future super star. It is not a coincidence that the Patriots are lucky. They continue to win because they continue to make hard decisions and make them correctly. Same for any other successful franchise. Patriots simply trade guys they know are going to ask for more than their worth and it usually works out for them. Usually for well run organizations everyone goes after the move "Well duh, that was a no brainer." All I'm saying is whether the Texans could have gotten more from the offseason or not, they have mishandled this entirely. Having a player with his salary holding out is never a good thing either way and they need to get him to sign his tender ASAP.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...-a-Pro-Bowler-That-s-the-Clowney-14383264.php The Texans authorized Clowney to meet with the Dolphins, per sources, but have yet to grant permission to other NFL teams. The Dolphins are intrigued at the prospect of potentially making Clowney a cornerstone of their rebuilding efforts, per sources. However, they are not Clowney's preferred destination. The former top overall pick from South Carolina would rather play for a contender such as the Philadelphia Eagles or the Seattle Seahawks. A major possible sticking point that could prevent a trade: The Dolphins are not willing to include highly regarded offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil in a trade scenario involving Clowney or part ways with their 2020 first-round draft pick, according to league sources. Clowney has not reported and has not signed his $15.967 million franchise tender and is in no rush to do so, according to sources. Because Clowney hasn't signed the tender, he has considerable leverage as he has a large say in determining where he goes. It is clear that a reunion between Clowney and Texans coach Bill O'Brien, one of the most powerful head coaches in the NFL after the firing of general manager Brian Gaine this offseason, is an extremely unlikely scenario with many sources predicting the former South Carolina star will never play for the Texans again. If Clowney does not report by next week and signs his tender regardless, he would lose a $939,239 game check for each week he is absent. The Dolphins are open to eventually hammering out a lucrative long-term contract extension for Clowney, per sources, which the Texans are currently unwilling to do.
Jesus Christ Bill. JD wants to play for you. Sit down and work it out instead of letting your ego get in the way.
Tunsil or 1st round pick....it’s a deal. Otherwise, no deal Dolphins. Clowney can rot losing paycheck after paycheck or he can sign the tender and play out next season
You have to assume the Texans and Dolphins have a preliminary deal in place if Clowney is meeting with them. I HOPE the no Tunsil talk is just contingency if a deal falls through. It’s what Morey did with CP3 and the one thing I thought the Texans should’ve done.
Unless BOB can parlay the multi-team interest into a decent deal, this could go down as one of the worse trades in Texans history. Clowney is arguably one of the best run defenders at his position and a decent pass rusher. I bet Flores believes he can make him an even better player and the reason he's pushing. They probably also see us as selling low versus when he was more valuable in July. I don't want Stills or really a RB either. Either we get someone at OT or CB that can make a difference or multiple draft picks with at least one 2nd.
My buddy who follows the Dolphins says Tunsil is just an average LT. Any one have thoughts on how good he really is?
The problem is Texans’ ownership has enabled Bill O’ Brien to be the head coach and lead the front office at the same time. There are no checks and balances in place to stop him from making idiotic personnel decisions.
If the Texans trade a Pro-Bowl caliber defensive end for a mediocre WR and RB, Bill O’ Brien should be fired on the spot. They need to get a starting-caliber left tackle or first round pick in return.
The players association needs to rethink this franchise tag thing. A crazy coach shouldn't be allowed to damage a players earnings out of spite like this.
our biggest need is o-line help and we're considering a WR and an RB when we get WR's and have newly added duke? why tf wouldnt we go after tunsil if we're giving away our number 1 pick whose one of the best in the league? i swear man this organization is becoming a joke
Line play is more difficult to judge than simply looking up a RBs DVOA or stat of your choice. That said, he did not make the top 25 O Linemen in this Dec. 2018 article from ProFootballFocus. https://www.pff.com/news/pro-top-25-offensive-linemen-of-the-2018-nfl-season OTOH, he was ranked 11th of all tackles, ahead of Williams FWIW, in this June Athlon Sports article. https://athlonsports.com/nfl/nfl-offensive-linemen-rankings My guess is that he's good to very good. And on his rookie deal. Teams don't move those guys absent a very compelling reason.
They have to agree to trade him to the Texans. It's not just a matter of the Texans calling the Dolphins and saying, "We'll take that guy right there for Clowney." They might trade him...for something like the next two or three #1s and Clowney. Still interested? I am LOLing at people on, for example, Twitter, who seem to think Clowney would bring back not only Tunsil, but another player and picks too. There's a lot of them. One of the gazillion reasons I couldn't do something like be a sports talk host.
CBA's up next year or the next, right? Negotiate it then. Assume there isn't a season-eating lockout, of course. A lot of players seem to hate the tag, despite the large 1 year salary it can provide them. I understand though Clowney's position, that having suffered what might have been a career ending injury already, he'd like to have a deal with significant guaranteed money should he get injured again. I mean, they all know it can end right there on any play, but someone who's been there already like Clowney probably feels it more strongly than others. OTOH, I can see the arguments that giving a guy a gigantic, cap-crippling deal, when that player has potential motivation issues and is lacking transcendent talent: that might not be a good idea. I agree with @JayGoogle and others that this was easily foreseeable though, and should have been addressed long before now.
[Premium Post] Picking up an average LT represents a huge upgrade from our current league-worst LT status! GOOD DAY
