Jadeveon Clowney Trade Rumors: 'Nothing There' Between Texans, Bills

Any rumors of a potential trade between the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills regarding star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney appear to be a dead end.

A Bills source told Tim Graham of The Athletic on Wednesday that there was "nothing there" in regard to those rumors.

In late July, ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques also squashed any Clowney-to-the-Bills chatter, writing: "There's been some buzz on social media about the Bills possibly trading for Clowney—especially after they hired former Texans general manager Brian Gaine. The NFL's landscape is fluid, of course, but at this point, a trade between Buffalo and Houston is not likely."

Clowney is likely to have trade buzz surrounding him all summer, however. The star defensive end is holding out and has yet to sign his $15.97 million franchise tag. He also cannot sign a long-term extension with the Texans, as the July 15 deadline to do so has passed.

So if Clowney is going to play for any team this season, including Houston, it will be on the tag. To this point, he's shown no indication he plans to report to the team.

Clowney also can nix any potential trades. Players who haven't signed their franchise tenders can't be dealt, so even if Buffalo were willing to offer a small fortune in a trade—and sign Clowney to a lucrative contract after the 2019 season—he could nix the deal before it even began.

One team that might make sense for Houston would be Washington, who has a disgruntled left tackle in Trent Williams. Houston needs an upgrade at the position after the offensive line allowed Deshaun Watson to be sacked a league-high 62 times in 2018, while Washington might be intrigued by a dynamic edge-rusher like Clowney:

But according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Washington has shown no sign of trading Williams amid his holdout:

It's rare, though not unheard of, to see blockbuster trades at this point in the summer. The Texans may yet move Clowney, but there's no clear front-runner to acquire him. At the least, a team like Buffalo can probably be eliminated as a suitor.