NFL Rumors: Jadeveon Clowney, Panthers Agree to 2-Year, $20M Contract in Free Agency

Coming off arguably the best season of his career with the Baltimore Ravens, Jadeveon Clowney is going to play for the Carolina Panthers in 2024.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Clowney agreed to a two-year, $20 million deal with the Panthers on Wednesday. Clowney’s contract reportedly has a max value of $24 million.

Clowney waited until well into the preseason before finally signing a one-year deal with the Ravens last summer. He was coming off a disappointing 2022 with four quarterback hits and two sacks in 12 games with the Cleveland Browns.

Playing in Mike Macdonald’s system with the Ravens helped unlock possibly the best version of Clowney that has been seen in the NFL. He tied his career high with 9.5 sacks and tied for the third-most tackles for loss in his career with 19.

Per Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus, Clowney also had his best pressure rate, pass-rush win rate and most total pressures in a season with Baltimore.

Using ESPN’s pass-rush win rate model, Clowney was tied with Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt with the fourth-highest success rate among all EDGE rushers (25 percent). He was one of six players in the top 20 who faced a double-team rate of at least 20 percent.

One big reason for Clowney’s improved performance was health and availability. He played in every game this season for just the second time in his career (2017). It’s not a surprise that was also the last time he recorded 9.5 sacks and had a career-high 21 tackles for loss.

The Panthers are banking on Clowney being able to carry over that injury luck and performance, despite not having the same amount of talent around him as the Ravens did in 2023.

It’s a risky proposition, for sure, but one that has the potential to pay off in a big way as Carolina seeks a better showing next season.

The Panthers are desperately trying to get things back on track after multiple years of roster mismanagement. The crown jewel of those issues came when Brian Burns was traded to the New York Giants less than two years after they reportedly rejected an offer from the Los Angeles Rams that included two first-round draft picks.

Here are the returns the Panthers have had for their last three significant trades dating back to the 2022 season:

One of the few areas where the Panthers weren’t terrible last season was their run and pass defense. They ranked in the top 13 in pass-rush win rate and run-stop win rate, per ESPN.com.

In addition to trading Burns, the Panthers also lost Frankie Luvu and Yetur Gross-Matos in free agency, leaving them without their top-three sack-getters from the 2023 campaign.

Clowney isn’t nearly as good as Burns, but he does give the Panthers a viable pass-rusher who can get after the quarterback.

If defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero can harness Clowney’s natural ability and translate it into consistent performance, the Panthers will have added one of the biggest free-agent bargains this offseason.