Clowney could be a perfect complement to Jared Verse and Byron Young

A former No. 1 overall pick hit the market this week when the Carolina Panthers cut Jadeveon Clowney one season into his two-year deal. Clowney is now a free agent and can sign with any team, but he’ll probably be selective with his next choice as a 32-year-old veteran.

The numbers show he can still be an impactful defender, recording 15 sacks in the last two seasons combined, but a team probably won’t be getting an All-Pro pass rusher anymore at this stage of his career.

The Los Angeles Rams have a great young core of defenders up front but could still benefit from adding another veteran pass rusher to the mix. If they can meet Clowney’s asking price, signing him might not be a bad idea.

Here are the pros and cons of such a move.

Pro: He’s still productive as a pass rusher

Clowney might be 32 years old but he’s still a productive edge rusher. He had 44 pressures last season and a pass-rush grade of 73.2 at Pro Football Focus, the ninth straight season he’s had a grade of at least 70.0 as a pass rusher.

While he may have only had 5.5 sacks last season, he played on a team that was rarely leading. And when you’re not leading, the opponent isn’t throwing the ball as much, which means the defense can’t rush the passer very often.

Clowney alluded to that in an interview with The Athletic.

“We was behind the 8-ball a lot, getting scored on and couldn’t score,” he said. “It was like, you can’t rush, you can’t stop the run, you’re in a bad situation. That’s just football.”

If he gets on a team like the Rams where they’re holding leads and making opponents throw the ball, it’ll only increase his effectiveness as a defender.

Con: He’s not going to be very cheap

His last contract with the Panthers, which he signed in 2024, was for two years and $20 million. Carolina moved on after one season, but it gives you an idea of how much he’s going to cost.

This isn’t going to be some cheap, veteran minimum signing. Clowney knows he can still play and no matter how old they get, productive pass rushers still command a good chunk of money.

If the Rams do sign Clowney, it could hinder their ability to trade for a player like Jalen Ramsey.

Pro: He’d bring a veteran presence to a young group

Jared Verse, Byron Young, Josaiah Stewart, Brennan Jackson and Nick Hampton are projected to be the top five edge rushers for the Rams this season. Young is the oldest at 27 and all five of them are entering their first, second or third season in the NFL.

It’s an incredibly young and inexperienced group, which isn’t a bad thing. They’re all energetic and hungry, which gives the defense an edge. However, it could benefit them to have a 32-year-old veteran like Clowney, who’s played on a bunch of different teams in several different schemes.

He could give them some guidance and advice as a veteran pass rusher, similar to the way Von Miller did in 2021 when the Rams won the Super Bowl.

Overall, the Rams’ defense is extremely young so having a guy like Clowney in the locker room could help everyone in the building.

Con: He’ll take snaps away from younger guys

If the Rams want to keep developing their young edge rushers, perhaps signing Clowney wouldn’t be the best idea. They wouldn’t bring him in to ride the bench, which means he’s going to play meaningful snaps and likely be at least third on the depth chart.

After committing three top-100 picks to Verse, Young and Stewart, the Rams may want to just give them as many snaps as possible. Signing Clowney would take playing time away from probably all of them except Verse, just for the sake of giving him opportunities to rush the passer.

As we’ve seen in recent years, the Rams have gotten early contributions from their rookies and inserting Clowney into the mix could hinder the growth of their young defenders.

Pro: He’d allow every edge rusher to stay fresh

The Eagles showed in the playoffs – and specifically in the Super Bowl – that the more pass rushers you have, the better your defense will be. That sounds obvious, but a lot of teams don’t rotate their pass rushers as much as the Eagles did in the postseason. They kept throwing waves of defenders at Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl, which they were able to do because of how deep their D-line was.

The Rams can build a similar unit with Verse, Young, Clowney, Stewart, Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske and even Poona Ford, to an extent. Clowney typically only lines up as an outside linebacker but even adding him to that position group will keep everyone’s legs fresh throughout the game and the season.

As Blaine Grisak of Turf Show Times points out, Young’s pass-rush win rate has dipped after Week 11 in each of the last two seasons, a sign that he might be wearing down as the year goes on. Signing another capable edge defender like Clowney could help him sustain a higher level of production.

Con: There are durability concerns

Clowney has only played a full season twice in his career (2017, 2023). Other than those two seasons, he’s missed at least one game in every other year. There were greater concerns about his health early in his career but in the last five seasons, he’s played more than 14 games just once.

And now that he’s 32, there has to be at least a little bit of worry that he won’t be healthy for an entire 17-game season, plus the playoffs. Maybe joining a defense where he doesn’t have to play 75-plus percent of the snaps every week will benefit him, putting less wear and tear on his body.

Verdict

If the price is right, it’s hard to see Clowney being a poor investment for a team like the Rams. They don’t need a veteran pass rusher, but the more depth they can have at outside linebacker, the better.

Like the Eagles did in the Super Bowl, they can keep rotating pass rushers and mixing up their personnel to keep everyone healthy and fresh throughout the year. At this point in his career, Clowney doesn’t have to be “the guy” anymore. He can be a complementary piece, similar to the way Justin Houston was late in his career.