Seahawks have to pass on these free agent pass rushers

Seahawks won’t get a chance at Clowney

The third player I can’t see playing for the Seahawks is Jadeveon Clowney. Yes, he’s an excellent player. Yes, after a slow start to his career he’s been healthy for the past three seasons. And yes, he’s been very consistent over the past two seasons. He had 9.5 and 9.0 sacks in 2017 and 2018, and added 21 quarterback hits in each year. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus graded him as the 9th best edge defender in the league. All great reasons to sign him.

There’s also a very good reason to forget about Clowney. I don’t think the Seahawks will ever get a chance at him. As with the Cowboys and Lawrence, the Texans would be crazy to let him go. As it stands now it’s likely they’ll apply the franchise tag to him as well. If for some reason they don’t – say he wins his argument that he should be tagged as a defensive end instead of a linebacker – he’s going to be a very expensive free agent.

It’s worth noting the Texans paid Clowney a $1 million bonus to settle the same positional dispute regarding his fifth-year option. It seems more likely than ever they’ll resolve the dispute over his listed position. If they don’t, his value as a free agent will be $16.6 million according to spotrac.com. I’m not concerned that moving Clowney from linebacker to defensive end would be an issue. I just think for that much money, there are better options for the Seahawks.

Let me be clear for those who are already gnashing your teeth. If Seattle somehow wound up with either Lawrence or Clowney, that would be a very good thing indeed. If the Hawks somehow land Ziggy Ansah for a reasonable contract, that too would be a very good thing. I just don’t think it’s very likely any of those scenarios will play out.