Finally healthy, Clowney now ‘game-wrecker’
HOUSTON — For t he f i r s t two injury-filled years of his NFL career many thought of Houston’s Jadeveon Clowney as a bust.
Now he’s healthy and proving the doubters wrong. The No. 1 pick of the 2014 draft is reveling in that fact he can now be called a Pro Bowler.
“I just want to keep playing for the Texans and let them know I’m trying to live up to be worthy of the No. 1 pick and keep coming strong,” Clowney said.
“I’m only getting better. I’m getting healthier as the year goes on. Everyone says you wear down, but I’m feeling a lot better the longer I’ve been in it.”
Clowney is tied for fourth in the NFL with a careerhigh 15 t ackles for losses and his five sacks are also a career best. The defensive end had perhaps the best two games of his career in the past two weeks where he has two sacks, three tackles for losses, five quarterback hits, a forced fumble and a batted down pass.
On Tuesday his performance this season was recognized when he was Houston’s only player selected to the Pro Bowl.
“I p u t i n a l o t o f h a rd work all offseason and told the guys I was going to try to make the Pro Bowl this year,” Clowney said. “They stuck behind me. We stuck together. We’ve been through a lot as a team. To be where we’re sitting right now, we’re doing good. We just have to keep playing.”
The Texans (8-6) can clinch their second consecutive AFC South title with a victory on Saturday night against the Bengals and a loss by the Titans at Jacksonville.
C l o w n e y a p p e a r e d i n just four games as a rookie before having season-ending microfracture surgery. He was healthy in time for Houston’s opener in 2015, but struggled with a vari- ety of injuries and started just nine games.
This season he’s missed just one game, his improvement has helped Houston’s defense withstand the loss of J.J. Watt and the unit ranks No. 1 in yards allowed.
I t ’ s e a s y t o s e e t h a t Clowney is having fun this season. He’s always smiling and laughing as bounces around the locker room chatting with teammates and staff. Things weren’t always this way for the former South Carolina standout. After his microfrac ture surger y in 2014, he wondered about his future.
“Sitting on my couch for two months and I was just thinking to myself: ‘Am I go i n g t o b e a b l e t o p l ay another snap of football again?’ At that time, that’s what I was really thinking,” he said. “Am I going to ever get to play again? So that was probably the lowest point.”
Houston left tackle Duane Brown is one of Clowney’s biggest supporters. He’s also the player Clowney most often goes against in practice.
“For him to come back and not only be on the field but be this disruptive and be a game-wrecker the way he’s been this year,” Brown said, “I’m very happy for him.”