Jadeveon Clowney Injury: Updates on Texans Star's Knee and Return

Houston Texans rookie Jadeveon Clowney has been placed on injured reserve after receiving multiple opinions on his injured knee. He finishes his rookie season with seven tackles and zero sacks in four games played. He is reportedly expected to miss nine months. 

Continue for updates.

Wednesday, Dec. 10

"Grave Concern" Clowney Will Have Short Career

Jason Cole of Bleacher Report passed along what he was hearing regarding Jadeveon Clowney following his knee surgery:

Tuesday, Dec. 9

Clowney Undergoes Surgery, Recovery Timetable Revealed

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports on the amount of time Jadeveon Clowney will need to rehab his knee after having surgery on Monday:

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle added more insight on the surgery: 

Thursday, Dec. 4

Clowney Placed on IR

Texans coach Bill O'Brien has confirmed that Jadeveon Clowney will be placed on IR, ending his first season in the NFL, per the Texans Twitter account:

Bleacher Report's Chris Simms and Adam Lefkoe break down if Clowney should already be considered a bust:

Wednesday, Dec. 3

Clowney Visits Dr. Andrews

Drew Dougherty of HoustonTexans.com has the latest as Jadeveon Clowney continues to rehab his knee injury:

Tuesday, Dec. 2

Clowney Seeks Second Opinion

According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, Jadeveon Clowney has sought a second opinion on his injured knee:

McClain went on to highlight recovery timeline scenarios: "A best-case scenario is Clowney continues to undergo treatment and is able to avoid being shut down for the last four games. A worst-case scenario would be another operation and more rehabilitation."

Monday, Dec. 1

Bill O'Brien Comments on Clowney's Status

Bill O'Brien spoke about Jadeveon Clowney's status as he tries to return from a knee injury, via Drew Dougherty of HoustonTexans.com and Mark Berman of Fox 26:

Friday, Nov. 28

Clowney Out vs. Titans

Deepi Sidhu of Texans.com has an update on Jadeveon Clowney's status for Sunday from head coach Bill O'Brien:

Sidhu also provided comments from defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel:

Thursday, Nov. 27

Clowney Injures Knee

The Houston Texans used the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft on Jadeveon Clowney, but he's struggled to live up to the hype due to injury issues. The latest is an aggravation to his surgically repaired right knee.  

Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com provided further information about Clowney and his potential availability for Week 13:

"

Texans outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney said his surgically repaired knee is swelling on him and caused him to play with a great deal of pain in Houston's last game.

Clowney, who has not practiced yet this week, said he will test his knee before Sunday's game in Houston, but his chances of playing are slim.

"

"A lot of pain right now, just been bothering me off and on the whole season. Something I've got to push through, but when the swelling comes up, it's a little setback," Clowney said of his injury, per Ganguli.

Clowney suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee during his NFL debut. He proceeded to miss the next six weeks as he worked his way back toward full strength. But even when he was deemed fit to return ahead of Week 8, he admitted he wasn't at 100 percent and registered just one tackle in a win over the Tennessee Titans.

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle noted the linebacker said he was still "sore":

Clowney then missed Week 9 due to illness but has played in the team's past two games following the Week 10 bye. However, Ganguli provided a statement from Clowney on Thursday discussing his disappointment in his recovery:

"

I'm kind of surprised; I thought it would have been over. I thought it'd be back to where it was by now. Some people react differently to injuries. ... Right now I just think it's letting it heal. You push it, push it, then it swells. You've got to let it go back down again. Right now just letting it heal and try to get it back to where it was before I got hurt, before the Cleveland game [two weeks ago].

"

When illness kept Clowney out of the lineup in the Week 9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that frustration was beginning to mount within the organization, via NFL.com's Kevin Patra.

"What they want is for him to start showing some maturity and learn to play through these some of these ailments," Rapoport said. "As a source just mentioned to me, this is really the first time Clowney has faced any sort of injury adversity—didn't really happen in college—and they want him to try to play through it in the NFL, but they're frustrated with their No. 1 overall pick."

Now there's a chance he could be sidelined again pending further evaluation.

USA TODAY Sports

Clowney is an outstanding talent with a chance to become a true game-changing player. In order to live up to those expectations, however, he must stay on the field. It's something he's struggled to do throughout his rookie campaign.

If he does miss further time, the onus will once again fall squarely on the shoulders of J.J. Watt to spearhead the pass rush. Whitney Mercilus has done solid work filling the void of Clowney, but that doesn't change the early disappointment surrounding the top pick.