Seattle Seahawks pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney is arguably the best available free agent left on the market, and a new development makes it seem as though he will not be playing for the Seahawks in 2020. Clowney was traded from the Houston Texans to Seattle at the beginning of last season, and it now appears he will again have to deal with a change of scenery.
On Wednesday morning, Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed announced on Twitter that he was taking his old jersey number back. When Seattle traded for Clowney, Reed gave him the No. 90 and accepted No. 91, but earlier this week, Reed said he was taking the number back.
To clarify all questions yes i am back in number 90
— jarran reed (@1j_reed) April 29, 2020
This would insinuate that Clowney will not be playing in Seattle in 2020. In 13 games last season, he recorded 31 combined tackles, three sacks, three passes defensed and one interception. While those numbers certainly aren't some of the best he has put up over his six seasons in the NFL, Clowney appeared to be more at home in a 4-3 scheme instead of in a 3-4.
Not long after, Reed deleted his tweet regarding taking Clowney's number, and on Thursday, Seahawks general manager John Schneider joined 710 ESPN Seattle to provide some clarity on what's going on.
"Yeah, I think you're buying into it, because I don't remember approving that yet," Schneider said. "I don't know where that came from, but yesterday morning… something was going on."
Clowney has reportedly lowered his asking price from north of $20 million per season to $17-18 million, which still may be the deal he's seeking -- just for a short-term commitment. Two landing spots for Clowney have been rumored to be the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns.
"We'll see," Titans general manager Jon Robinson said earlier this month, via the team website. "We've had some discussions there and we've had some dialogue back and forth. You never close the door on anything."
As for the Browns, they currently have the most cap space in the NFL according to overthecap.com, so they are in the best position to sign Clowney if they indeed are set on it. Either way, with Reed taking back his jersey number, it appears as though it has already been decided -- Clowney will not be playing for the Seahawks in 2020.