Eagles, Ravens Interested In Jadeveon Clowney?

A number of teams have been connected in some way or another to free agent edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney over the course of the past several months. The Eagles and Ravens are two such teams, but while there was plenty of speculation linking Clowney to those clubs, there were no concrete reports on that front. However, Mark Berman of Fox 26 KRIV may have changed that last night.

Per Berman’s sources, Philadelphia and Baltimore are among the teams expressing interest in Clowney’s services (Twitter link). Of course, the degree of their interest is unclear, and it’s possible that those clubs are simply keeping tabs on Clowney in case he falls into a certain price range or in case something should happen to one of their other pass rushers. Nonetheless, the “addition” of two Super Bowl hopefuls to the market is notable and will certainly be welcomed by Clowney himself.

The Ravens’ edge rushing contingent is headed by the franchise-tagged Matt Judon, but we do not know where the two sides stand in their negotiations of a long-term pact, and Judon has been rumored as a trade candidate. Although Baltimore’s cap space as it presently stands would seem to preclude a Clowney signing without restructuring the contracts of other players, the team could theoretically trade Judon for quality draft capital and allocate his cap charge to Clowney. The Ravens did re-sign Pernell McPhee just yesterday, and while McPhee can certainly be useful as a rotational pass rusher, his presence will hardly stop GM Eric DeCosta from pursuing Clowney if he believes there’s a fit.

Meanwhile, a pass rusher is arguably the Eagles’ biggest remaining need. Philadelphia has enough salary cap room to fit Clowney into the roster this year, but the club has a lot of work to do with respect to its 2021 cap, especially if the cap should decline as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. So any rollover money the Eagles can carry from 2020 into 2021 will be hugely beneficial. On the other hand, if GM Howie Roseman thinks Clowney can help get his team back to the promised land this year, then his 2021 cap situation will not stop him from pulling the trigger.

Berman also notes that the Titans and Browns are very much in the mix for Clowney, though their interest has been well-documented. In addition, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2014 draft has not ruled out a return to the Seahawks.

“I hope we can work something out if anything happens,” Clowney said. “I did like it up there. … I love all the guys I played with. … I love Seattle. … I love everyone on the coaching staff” (Twitter link via Berman).

Consistent with what we heard last week, Clowney said he is willing to wait to sign until interested clubs can bring him in for a physical. “I know what’s going on in the world,” Clowney said. “It’s a slow process until teams can see me and see what I got and can give me physicals. I’m just waiting on the right opportunity” (Twitter link via Berman).

Those comments were the first Clowney has made publicly since the end of the 2019 season, and he has been working out at a gym in Houston four days a week since undergoing core muscle surgery (Twitter link via Berman). He says he is fully recovered from his injury, but to get the payday he wants, he will likely need to wait until teams can make that determination for themselves.

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