Seahawks free agent Jadeveon Clowney has two AFC teams very interested

Seahawks free agent Jadeveon Clowney has stayed available longer than anyone expected. However, it could be coming to an end very soon. Two AFC Teams are in pursuit.

The Seahawks spent a lot of time and energy trying to bring back Jadeveon Clowney. However, due to monetary concerns and Clowney simply not wanted anything to do with training camp, a deal never came to fruition.

Now just a couple weeks from opening night, it appears that new interest has been sparked in the free agent. The Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers are both vying to bring in the star defensive end.

The Ravens just released safety Earl Thomas, in doing so they should be able to clear his $10 million guaranteed base salary from their books. Their wallets have been newly opened up. The Ravens currently have $14.2 million in cap space (after Earl Thomas’s release, assuming they win the grievance via conduct detrimental).

The Steelers meanwhile do not have a lot of cap space. To be precise they have $3 million in cap space as it is today. No where near what is required to get a deal done. They would have to make a move or two to make this work. Trading someone like Bud Dupree or Cameron Heyward would make the most sense.

Perhaps the Steelers and Seahawks could even be trade partners in this venture. Either Bud Dupree or Cameron Heyward would provide a huge defensive line boost for the Seahawks. The only problem, both of these players would likely be one year rentals as well.

Both of these teams play in the 3-4 scheme. Per Tom Pelissero, Clowney has interest in going back to the 3-4 scheme to boost his stats next season. He believes that the 4-3 scheme simply wont allow him to shine in a way that will help him gain the massive contract extension he is looking for.

Pelissero also enlightened us as to why Clowney hasn’t signed to date, considering the season is right around the corner. It appears that Jadeveon Clowney has had some bad experiences in training camp with the Houston Texans. Unless blown away with a contract offer, he had zero interest in partaking in training camp.

Jadeveon Clowney back to the Seahawks?

It is also possible that the Seahawks bring Clowney back. However, it would take a few moves to make this happen. Something like trading KJ Wright or releasing a slew of players like Jacob Hollister, David Moore and Carlos Hyde would be enough to make this work.

The question the team would then have to figure out; would these moves actually make them better? Having to sacrifice so many quality depth players for one star would be a risky venture. Granted Clowney is a one man wrecking crew.

Regardless, it sounds like Jadeveon Clowney should be signing somewhere within the next week. This is definitely something to keep an eye on. The Clowney watch is coming to an end.