A first-overall pick comes home
Houston drafted Jadeveon Clowney first overall in 2014, watched him grow into a three-time Pro Bowler, then let him leave in 2019. On Sunday, twelve years after that draft night, the Texans agreed to bring the pass rusher back for a second stint.
The reported terms sit at a $5.5 million base with incentives pushing the deal toward $8 million. Clowney is coming off an 8.5-sack season with the Cowboys, production that drew interest from the Browns and Seahawks before he chose the franchise that started his career.
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Why the fit makes sense
Clowney has bounced between contenders since leaving Houston, a well-traveled stretch of one-year deals and midseason fits. At 33 he is no longer the game-wrecker of his early Houston years, yet 8.5 sacks last season says the motor still runs.
Houston needed a veteran edge to rotate behind its younger rushers. Clowney offers snaps, savvy and a familiarity with the building that few free agents could match this late in the summer.
The bigger picture
Reunions like this rarely recapture the original promise, and Houston is not asking for that. It wanted a proven rotational rusher on a modest number, and it found one who called the decision a no-brainer.
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