With that in mind, Last Word on Sports’ Anthony Palacios suggests the AFC teams as possible landing spots for Carolina Panthers edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney if he’s made available this offseason.
Palacios’ suggestion is spurred on by a recent article from FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano, who thinks Clowney, who is on the final year of his $20 million deal, could be on the block in the near future.
The Panthers are improving, but are probably a year away from being a serious playoff contender. So a 32-year-old edge rusher in the last year of a two-year, $20 million deal should absolutely have a “For Sale” sign on his back. Clowney has spent his career as a hired gun. His next team will be his seventh in 12 NFL seasons. But he had 5.5 sacks last year and 9.5 in Baltimore the year before. He can be a big boost to the defense of a contender, and they probably can handle a contract that has him due about $10 million this year.
The Ravens had the second-highest sack total in the NFL last season, but their sacks leader, Kyle Van Noy, is now another year older (34) and there’s no telling if he’ll be able to recreate his career-best showing. Odafe Oweh finished second on the team in sacks with 10, but that campaign was an outlier for him, which also makes him a question mark going into 2025.
As a result, the Ravens need to add more edge depth, especially with the team set to compete with the likes of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, and Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Baltimore is already quite familiar with Clowney, who had a career year with the Ravens in 2023 that saw him tally 9.5 sacks, which was tied for his personal best.
The Chiefs have a solid situation along the edge, but you can never have enough good pass-rushers. With Kansas City reloading for another run at the Super Bowl, it’s not crazy to think they could add someone like Clowney to shore up the group.
Neither team has a great salary cap situation, with both sporting a little over $11 million. However, that should be enough to fit Clowney in, albeit with a little creativity.
