Vikings and Packers fight for Everson Griffen, what does that mean for Clowney
By Will Lomas
The dominoes are falling around Jadeveon Clowney.
While there are rumors about Jadeveon Clowney potentially agreeing to a deal with the Tennessee Titans, all of those rumors are unsubstantiated…for now.
What seems real is that the Minnesota Vikings are interested in bringing back one of their best defenders of the 2010s, Everson Griffen.
They aren’t alone, however, because it seems like they will have to fight off the rival Green Bay Packers as they chase after the veteran pass rusher. You may wonder what that has to do with the Tennessee Titans and Clowney, but let’s look at the events of the last 48 hours.
Jamal Adams was traded to the Seattle Seahawks from the New York Jets for a massive price. While his next deal may wait until next year, the fact remains that now that we know a $175 million cap is possible, trading for a player like Adams means that you are going to have to financially commit to him.
You can infer that that means that the Seahawks aren’t going to make any other big signings soon…say like for an EDGE.
They were in the hunt for two different EDGEs according to rumors and groupthink. Those two were Jadeveon Clowney and Everson Griffen.
While I can’t say what came first, the chicken (Jamal Adams trade) or the egg (Everson Griffen deciding to narrow down his list of teams), what I can say is that a potential deal between the Seahawks and Griffen now seems very unlikely.
Griffen is on the market and has reportedly narrowed his list down to two teams, but it is a little bit strange that we are hearing that now. Maybe that means that Seattle ran out of money, but I also wonder if that means that there is a potential deal being done with the top EDGE available.
If Clowney is working on a deal then it would make sense for Griffen to look for a home as well now that he has to cross another team off of his list of potential destinations.
What is left for Clowney?
You know I am going to connect the Titans and Clowney here because that seems like the odds on favorite right now. However, let’s look at the other teams he was connected to and whether or not they still need an EDGE.
Seattle: Just made a move for Jamal Adams and you can infer that they might be done looking at free agents since the Everson Griffen news emerged.
Cleveland Browns: The Browns were reportedly interested, but it looks like they backed off of that after giving Myles Garrett an extension and working out a new deal with Olivier Vernon.
New Orleans Saints: One of his preferred landing spots, the Saints have to be terrified because they are potentially $74 million over the cap for 2021 and they need all the help they can get.
New York Jets: There was a rumor that the Jets might be involved, but after trading away Adams you can assume that Clowney won’t have any interest in going to a team that will be closer to drafting 1st overall than getting into the playoffs.
It looks like the Tennessee Titans played the waiting game as well as they could have and now Jadeveon Clowney is set to be on this defense. Now, there could be a mystery team that jumps in and signs him, but given everything we have heard, it sounds like Titans fans should be very optimistic about their chances.