Should the Panthers Pursue Jadeveon Clowney?

Rock Hill, SC native and former South Carolina Gamecock, Jadeveon Clowney, hasn't necessarily lived up to the lofty expectations set upon him since entering the NFL but he has still had a very solid career in the league posting 41 sacks over eight seasons.

As he has done in recent years, Clowney is remaining patient while on the free agent market waiting for the right fit and the right situation. With him still available past May 3rd, teams can now sign Clowney and not have to give up a compensatory pick in order to do so, meaning the interest around the league will be picking up over the next week or so.

The belief around the league is that the Browns are hoping to bring him back and that a return is very likely. However, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the one team the Browns are nervous about is the Carolina Panthers, should they choose to get involved.

“The Browns have been pretty confident that they’d get Jadeveon Clowney back, with the one caveat being that if a team in the South near where the South Carolina native grew up came calling, that could blow things up. So yeah, the Browns are in play and the Panthers probably would be too if they show real interest.”

Edge rusher is really the one glaring need on the roster in addition to linebacker. After the first wave of free agency and the draft, the Panthers have still yet to find a replacement for Haason Reddick who signed a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this offseason.

The team's current options to line up opposite of Brian Burns are Yetur Gross-Matos, Marquis Haynes Sr., Amaré Barno, Frank Herron, Joe Jackson, Darryl Johnson, and Austin Larkin. Sure, this could be the year that Gross-Matos stays on the field and flourishes but I get the feeling that Phil Snow doesn't want to ride into the 2022 season banking on that idea coming to fruition.

Adding a player like Clowney makes a ton of sense for the Panthers. They can sell the "come home" pitch to him, play on one of the better defensive units in the league, and still get the money that he deserves. The Panthers had just a shade over $30 million in available cap space heading into the draft, according to spotrac.com. Clowney's last two contracts were worth $8 million and $13 million over one year, respectively. This is something the Panthers could easily swing and should seriously consider doing to eliminate Brian Burns constantly being double-teamed.

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