NFL Exec Questions Titans' Jadeveon Clowney 'Outside of Getting Paid'

Jadeveon Clowney is heading into his seventh season in the NFL, but at least one league executive is raising concerns about what the 27-year-old defensive end, who was signed by the Tennessee Titans this offseason, brings to the table.

One anonymous executive told The Athletic:

"Clowney is a real interesting valuation project because he doesn't practice, there may be some missed games, the double-digit sacks are not there. Does he want to play down? Does he want to play up, to take some of that pounding off? What is he at this point in his career? I'm not sure what he sees himself as, outside of getting paid."

Clowney, who was picked up by the Titans after spending last season with Seattle and five seasons prior in Houston, was expected to be a big name in free agency, though NBC Sports Peter King had reported that teams were concerned about his "inconsistency and injury history." 

The three-time Pro Bowler, who was the No. 1 overall pick out of South Carolina in 2014, had a quiet 2019 with three sacks and 31 tackles, the lowest of his career, after totalling 18.5 sacks and 42 quarterback hits in 2017 and '18 combined. Of course, Clowney can't produce if he doesn't play, and the 27-year-old has only completed one 16-game season through six years in the league. 

After he missed three games in 2019-20, he had surgery this offseason to fix a sports hernia in his core and was fully healthy in March.

The Texans were frustrated with Clowney in his first year, when he only appeared in four games. He sat out the second half of the preseason with concussion-like symptoms and left his regular-season debut in Week 1 in the second quarter with a knee injury. He later underwent surgery to repair a torn miniscus and ended his rookie season when he was placed on injured reserve Dec. 4 with what was later termed a microfracture injury.

The Titans signed Clowney to a one-year deal worth up to $15 million on Sept. 6.