As the Tennessee Titans continue to monitor the Jadeveon Clowney situation in free agency, it appears one of his suitors are out.
The Cleveland Browns, who were reportedly offering Clowney the most money, renegotiated the deal of pass-rusher Olivier Vernon, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
Vernon and his non-guaranteed salary were likely to be a cap casualty if the Browns were going to sign Clowney; however the fact that Vernon is now guaranteed through the 2020 season is an indication that the Browns are no longer pursuing Clowney, per Dan Labbe of Cleveland.com.
The Browns didn’t seem to be much competition for the Titans in the first place, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted that if Clowney had any interest in going there, he would have signed with Cleveland already.
Raiders have made Clowney an offer?
It isn’t clear how long the Las Vegas Raiders have been in on Clowney, but they have reportedly made an offer to the free-agent pass-rusher, although it doesn’t appear to be the biggest one.
Team sources tell me #Raiders have extended an offer to Jadeveon Clowney. 2 or 3 other teams have better offers. Jon Gruden REALLY wants him but Davis/Mayock are standing pat (for now) Gruden would like to up the offer. Interesting for #Broncos if JC winds up in AFCW @1043TheFan
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) July 6, 2020
Seahawks odds to retain Clowney “likely increasing”?
Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times connects the dots in a recent mailbag and notes that every team that falls through in the Clowney sweepstakes — like the Browns seemingly did — moves the Seahawks closer to re-signing the former No. 1 overall pick.
Still waiting in the wings and available to pounce, with the odds likely increasing he plays another year in Seattle with every other option that falls through.
No, Seattle isn’t going to offer Clowney $15-16 million a year or so as it originally did. But the Seahawks can still offer a one-year deal that would allow Clowney to return to a place he feels comfortable and maybe set himself up for another run at free agency in 2021 (with everything these days written with the caveats that things at some point will be normal).
That goes without saying, really. We can also make the case that the Titans are now one step closer to landing Clowney if the Browns are out.
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