Latest NFL development gives Packers chance to add a major boost to their pass rush that could use an extra spark
Jadeveon Clowney is still a free agent
The Green Bay Packers seem happy with Lukas Van Ness’ development throughout training camp, and Rashan Gary is a big part of the team’s plans. However, adding a prolific run defender and decent rotational rusher at the edge position right before the regular season could be a major boost to Jeff Hafley’s defense. That possibility is presenting itself with Jadeveon Clowney.
At 32, the former first-overall pick isn’t a fan of training camps. That’s why he waits for it to end, then he makes a decision about his future. According to NFL insider Aaron Wilson, Clowney is now actively looking for his next destination.
“You’re always looking. With pass rushers, you can never have enough,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said after last season. “I thought there were times [last year] we did that, we were able to rush with four men. Every team in the league, that’s how you’d prefer to do it, rush with four and affect the quarterback with four. There were periods of times where we didn’t do that well enough, everybody understands that. That affects your football team.”
The only significant investments the Packers made at the position came on Day 3 of the draft, selecting edge rusher Barryn Sorrell in the fourth round and hybrid edge/off-ball linebacker Collin Oliver in the fifth. However, both players are hurt, and we don’t know if they will start the season on the active roster. Sorrell could be placed on injured reserve with a designation for return due to a knee injury, while Oliver is still on PUP because of a hamstring issue.
Clowney has been the ultimate mercenary edge rusher. Since being traded from the Houston Texans in 2019, he has played for the Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, and Carolina Panthers. It’s been one season for each, except Cleveland, where he spent two years. He made the Pro Bowl three consecutive years, between 2016 and 2018, and was a Second-Team All-Pro in 2016 as a member of the Texans, the team that drafted him in 2014.
Throughout his NFL career, Clowney established himself as an elite run defender, even though his productivity as a pass rusher hasn’t been what you would expect from a first-overall pick.
He had some prolific years as a pass rusher — most recently, with 9.5 sacks for the Ravens in 2023. Last season, the Panthers gave him a two-year, $20 million contract, and he had 5.5 sacks and 46 total tackles in Charlotte.
However, he became expendable after the Panthers drafted Nic Scourton in the second round and Princely Umanmielen in the third, in addition to signing former Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Patrick Jones II in free agency.
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