The deadline for signing franchise players has come and gone, and only one of those guys didn't sign a long-term deal: Jadeveon Clowney. Reports have indicated that Clowney will stay away from the team for at least part of training camp, but will be there when the games count. Houston might regret not coming to an agreement.
Clowney has an injury history, which wiped out virtually all of his rookie season and made him, initially, look like a suspect pick atop the 2014 draft. But he's also missed a total of only six games in four seasons since, and just one game the last two years, so those worries look a little overblown. The last three seasons, he's been one of the most productive pass rushers in the league.
Since 2016, 62 players have racked up at least 15 sacks. Clowney's got 24.5 in that span, while also totaling 53 tackles for losses -- 3rd-most in the league behind Aaron Donald (57) and Chandler Jones (56). His combined total of sacks and tackles for losses is better than all but seven players.
TOP PASS RUSHERS, 2016-2018 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Player | G | Sk | TFL | Tot |
Chandler Jones | 48 | 41.0 | 56 | 97.0 |
Aaron Donald | 46 | 39.5 | 57 | 96.5 |
Cameron Jordan | 48 | 32.5 | 52 | 84.5 |
Von Miller | 48 | 38.0 | 44 | 82.0 |
Ryan Kerrigan | 48 | 37.0 | 44 | 81.0 |
Calais Campbell | 48 | 33.0 | 46 | 79.0 |
Danielle Hunter | 48 | 34.0 | 44 | 78.0 |
Jadeveon Clowney | 45 | 24.5 | 53 | 77.5 |
Khalil Mack | 46 | 34.0 | 39 | 73.0 |
Michael Bennett | 43 | 22.5 | 43 | 65.5 |
Geno Atkins | 48 | 28.0 | 36 | 64.0 |
Joey Bosa | 35 | 28.5 | 35 | 63.5 |
Frank Clark | 47 | 32.0 | 31 | 63.0 |
Jason Pierre-Paul | 44 | 28.0 | 34 | 62.0 |
Mario Addison | 46 | 29.5 | 32 | 61.5 |
Terrell Suggs | 47 | 26.0 | 35 | 61.0 |
Akiem Hicks | 48 | 23.0 | 38 | 61.0 |
Melvin Ingram | 48 | 25.5 | 35 | 60.5 |
Yannick Ngakoue | 48 | 29.5 | 29 | 58.5 |
Demarcus Lawrence | 41 | 26.0 | 32 | 58.0 |
Brandon Graham | 47 | 19.0 | 38 | 57.0 |
Dee Ford | 37 | 25.0 | 29 | 54.0 |
Chris Jones | 48 | 24.0 | 29 | 53.0 |
Cameron Heyward | 38 | 23.0 | 30 | 53.0 |
Everson Griffen | 42 | 26.5 | 26 | 52.5 |
Justin Houston | 32 | 22.5 | 30 | 52.5 |
Vic Beasley | 46 | 25.5 | 26 | 51.5 |
Bruce Irvin | 48 | 21.5 | 30 | 51.5 |
Cameron Wake | 46 | 28.0 | 23 | 51.0 |
Carlos Dunlap | 48 | 23.5 | 27 | 50.5 |
Lorenzo Alexander | 48 | 22.0 | 28 | 50.0 |
Olivier Vernon | 39 | 22.0 | 28 | 50.0 |
DeForest Buckner | 47 | 21.0 | 29 | 50.0 |
Matt Judon | 46 | 19.0 | 31 | 50.0 |
Jerry Hughes | 48 | 17.0 | 33 | 50.0 |
Jurrell Casey | 46 | 18.0 | 31 | 49.0 |
Fletcher Cox | 46 | 22.5 | 26 | 48.5 |
Kawann Short | 46 | 16.5 | 31 | 47.5 |
Julius Peppers | 48 | 23.5 | 23 | 46.5 |
Trey Flowers | 45 | 21.0 | 25 | 46.0 |
Malik Jackson | 48 | 18.0 | 28 | 46.0 |
Jabaal Sheard | 47 | 16.0 | 30 | 46.0 |
Denico Autry | 44 | 16.5 | 28 | 44.5 |
Gerald McCoy | 44 | 19.0 | 24 | 43.0 |
Ezekiel Ansah | 34 | 18.0 | 25 | 43.0 |
T.J. Watt | 31 | 20.0 | 22 | 42.0 |
Bud Dupree | 38 | 16.0 | 26 | 42.0 |
Myles Garrett | 27 | 20.5 | 21 | 41.5 |
Clay Matthews | 42 | 16.0 | 24 | 40.0 |
Nick Perry | 35 | 19.5 | 20 | 39.5 |
J.J. Watt | 24 | 17.5 | 22 | 39.5 |
Preston Smith | 48 | 16.5 | 23 | 39.5 |
Brian Orakpo | 45 | 19.0 | 20 | 39.0 |
Robert Quinn | 40 | 19.0 | 20 | 39.0 |
Leonard Floyd | 38 | 15.5 | 23 | 38.5 |
Markus Golden | 31 | 15.0 | 22 | 37.0 |
Kyler Fackrell | 45 | 15.5 | 19 | 34.5 |
Derrick Morgan | 42 | 17.0 | 17 | 34.0 |
Dante Fowler | 47 | 16.0 | 18 | 34.0 |
Adrian Clayborn | 43 | 16.5 | 17 | 33.5 |
Erik Walden | 32 | 15.0 | 15 | 30.0 |
Chris Long | 48 | 15.5 | 12 | 27.5 |
Houston has other pass rushers, including J.J. Watt. But Watt is four years older than Clowney and has a more extensive recent injury history. Considering Houston is apparently going to operate without a general manager this season, small wonder they couldn't work a deal out with Clowney. But it's possible they'll regret it, and wish they'd locked him up to a long-term deal this offseason. He'd be missed in their defense.
--Andy Richardson