Clowney declined Browns’ big offer
Free agent defensive end Jadeveon Clowney turned down a bigmoney offer from the Cleveland Browns, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Wednesday.
Schefter told ESPN Cleveland that the Browns’ offer was the highest that Clowney has received so far and that the former No. 1 pick in the draft would be a Brown if he wanted to be in Cleveland.
Details of the Browns’ offer were not disclosed.
The Browns have Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon on the edges, though they were shopping Vernon earlier this offseason.
Clowney, 27, was reportedly seeking more than $20mn annually when he hit free agency in mid-March, but his market has developed slowly. One factor could be his injury history — which includes microfracture surgery on his knee and core muscle surgery after the 2019 season — and the inability for teams to give players a physical in person during the coronavirus outbreak.
An ESPN report last week said Clowney has dropped his asking price to $17mn to $18mn annually, with the Tennessee Titans showing interest and the Seahawks still hoping to re-sign him.
While not all salaries for free agent signings have been reported, the Browns have the most second-most cap space in the NFL currently, per Spotrac’s projections, behind only the New York Jets and Washington Redskins.
Clowney tallied 31 tackles, three sacks, four forced fumbles and one interception in 13 games (11 starts) in his first season with Seattle in 2019. The Seahawks acquired Clowney prior to last season in a trade with the Houston Texans. The top overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Clowney has 236 tackles, 32 sacks and eight forced fumbles in 75 career games (66 starts) with the Texans (2014-18) and Seahawks.