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Following a season-ending loss in the NFC Divisional Round, the Seahawk Maven writing staff will be selecting award winners for the Seahawks successful 2019 campaign. Continuing our end-of-the-season awards, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney overcame constant double teams and a nagging injury to be the most disruptive player in the trenches for Seattle's defense.

Looking to boost a pass rush without the services of its top two sack producers from 2018, the Seahawks pulled off a blockbuster trade in late August to bring Jadeveon Clowney to the Pacific Northwest.

In the midst of a lengthy holdout with Houston, Clowney held the power to choose his next playing destination, as he couldn’t be traded until he agreed to sign his franchise tag tender. After weeks of speculation, he was finally dealt, as Seattle general manager John Schneider shipped a third-round pick and two reserve linebackers to acquire the star.

Quickly acclimating to his new surroundings, Clowney immediately jumped into the Seahawks starting lineup in Week 1. Though he didn’t produce near as many sacks as the organization hoped he would after the trade, he still proved to be a disruptive force in 13 games.

"It's been great. Great experience. I met a great group of guys. I just told them, 'I appreciate everyone in this locker room because I didn't know how it was going to go when I got to Seattle'… so I walked in laughing and giggling," Clowney said after a divisional round loss. "They've been accepting me ever since.”

From a traditional statistics standpoint, Clowney produced just 31 combined tackles, his lowest total since an injury-plagued rookie season. But the former first overall pick generated 13 quarterback hits, forced four fumbles, and scored two defensive touchdowns in his first year in Seattle.

According to ESPN’s Pass Rush Win Rate metric, Clowney also beat his block in under 2.5 seconds on 24 percent of his pass rushes, ranking sixth among all qualified edge defenders. Not bad for a player who was constantly battling through double teams each week.

Clowney’s impact went far beyond the box score, as his presence still forced opponents to game plan for him. And when his teammates needed him late in the season, he gutted out a painful core injury to play in the final three games, including two playoff contests in which he registered 1.5 sacks.

Now poised to hit free agency after Schneider promised not to use the franchise tag again as part of the original trade back in August, coach Pete Carroll believes Clowney wants to return and hopes he’ll be with the Seahawks for the foreseeable future.

“He loves it here and he wants to be here,” Carroll told reporters at his end-of-season press conference. “He dropped up to see John [Schneider] just to let him know how important it was to him. He had a great time. Everybody in here, they had a ball competing together. It’s interesting to see the new guys that come in because they’re more surprised by the environment.”

Aside from Clowney, Seattle has several other key free agents to consider re-signing, including defensive tackle Jarran Reed and tackle Germain Ifedi, who are also scheduled to hit the market on March 18. Even with an estimated $59.7 million in cap space available, those other business decisions will complicate matters.

But while the stats don’t tell the whole story of his impact this past season, there’s no question the team needs to do everything it can to retain Clowney for the long haul. If they can’t reach a deal, the Seahawks could be starting back at square one next season, which wouldn't be an ideal position for a supposed contender in the NFC.

Previous Seahawk Maven award winners:

Comeback Player of the Year: K.J. Wright

Most Improved Player: Rasheem Green

Offensive Lineman of the Year: Germain Ifedi

Rookie of the Year: DK Metcalf