The Seattle Seahawks made some interesting choices in the 2025 NFL Draft. That does not mean the team made poor decisions, but ones that might have been somewhat unexpected. After all, who can argue with general manager John Schneider taking offensive line Grey Zabel in the first round?
In free agency, Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald brought back nearly the entire defense. The offense, which was somewhat torn down and rebuilt, includes a new offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, and a new quarterback, Sam Darnold.
An interesting part of Macdonald's hiring after the 2023 season is that when he came to Seattle from Baltimore, he did not bring many Ravens with him. Baltimore had several free agents available for the Seahawks to sign, but Schneider passed for various reasons.
Seahawks could be desperate enough to reunite with Jadeveon Clowney
That can be remedied now, and Seattle could add a player in free agency who is not only a former Macdonald player but also a former Seahawk. The player in question had huge success in Macdonald's system.
The Carolina Panthers released edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney on Thursday (and an odd time to release a player so long after the beginning of free agency, but these are the Panthers we are discussing). He spent one year in Seattle in 2019, and though he had only three sacks, 12s know how much of a disruptor he was in the 13 games he played.
He also spent just one season with the Ravens in 2023, but Macdonald got arguably the best season of the defensive end's career out of him. Clowney had 9.5 sacks, played all 17 games (a rarity for the player), and had a career-high 78 total pressures.
Clowney has also been consistently great against the run in his career. He would not give Macdonald and the defense a one-down player. He would be part of a scary edge rush rotation, including Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, Uchenna Nwosu, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Clowney. That group would be among the best in the NFL.
The depth and quality of the group would also allow Clowney not to have to play every down. He could play 50 percent of the defensive snaps or less, which would help him be at maximum productivity and freshness when he does play. In other words, signing Clowney, who the Seahawks and Macdonald are familiar with, would easily be a positive move.
Clowney might also not be expensive, as he is 32 years old and has bounced around the league quite a bit. He is more of a one-year rental, but one who can help make the Seahawks' defense great, especially as he would already understand what Mike Macdonald needs from his position. Seattle also did not choose an edge rusher in the 2025 NFL draft, so Clowney might be a perfect fit.