Titans Have 'An Offer Out' To Clowney
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans still want Jadeveon Clowney.
Coach Mike Vrabel confirmed Friday that the Titans “have an offer out” to the three-time Pro Bowler but indicated that he has no sense of Clowney’s thinking.
With the start of the NFL’s regular season a little more than a week away, the issue of where Clowney will play in 2020 has heated up once again. According to recent reports, he plans to end his extended free agency and sign a contract with an NFL team at the start of next week.
The Titans are not the only ones interested, though. Seattle, the team for which he played last season, would like to bring him back and New Orleans reportedly has stepped up its interest in recent days. How those teams compare to one another in Clowney’s mind is anybody’s guess.
Tennessee has made its interest known since early in the offseason, and franchise officials have maintained the pursuit all the way to the finish.
“We have an offer out. We have been in contact with Jadeveon … and his agent,” Vrabel said. “That’s all I can report. And that’s all I really know.”
The interest apparently is not limited to the front office and the coaches’ offices. The locker is included. Left tackle Taylor Lewan, in particular, actively courted Clowney on social media Thursday evening.
Vrabel did not rule out the possibility that Clowney could contribute in the opener at Denver (Sept. 14), provided the sides could come to an agreement on contract terms in the near future.
“I don’t think we’re past that time, but there’s … a testing protocol that they have to go through to be able to come in the building – and that’s just to be able to come in,” Vrabel said. “Also, you’re talking about getting ready to play [and] executing the gameplan, how much [impact] that player would have in the game.”
Clowney was the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft by Houston and has collected 32 sacks, eight forced fumbles and eight fumble recoveries in 75 career contests. His best season was 2017 with Houston, when he set career-highs for sacks (9.5), tackles for loss (21), quarterback hits (21), forced fumbles (two), fumble recoveries (two) and tackles (59) with Vrabel as his defensive coordinator. That year, he was the only AFC player with at least 20 tackles-for-loss (21) and 20 quarterback hits (20).
“I don’t think it’s too hard to function here and be a great teammate,” Vrabel said. “I think you have to love football and you have to play with great effort and be willing to put the team first. That’s what we really ask of these guys. So, those are the players we target.”
