Jadeveon Clowney makes a homecoming move to join the Carolina Panthers.
The top defender from the South Carolina Gamecocks was signed by the Carolina Panthers, who made the announcement on Wednesday. He will play outside linebacker, according to the team.
They posted two posts on social media to commemorate the signing: one with the tagline, “Not clowning around,” and another with a collage of his high school and college years, “Always been a Carolina guy.”
Clowney views his return to his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, as a homecoming. “Our trip home will only take 30 minutes. Going into season 11, that’s where we do all of our community and foundation work,” Clowney declared to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports following his choice. In addition, my grandfather is aging, and our family experienced several losses the previous year. Sincerely, it seems like we are getting closer to a full circle moment.”
NFL STATS CENTRAL: Up-to-date NFL schedules, stats, odds, and more. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Clowney inked a two-year, $20 million contract with a potential value of $24 million. The product of Rock Hill, South Carolina, joins Ejiro Evero’s defense following a season in which he tied a career high with 9.5 sacks while playing for the Baltimore Ravens. In 2017, he achieved the same feat with the Houston Texans, as he was selected to the Pro Bowl three times. Early in his NFL career, Clowney battled injuries, and following his three Pro Bowl seasons, he played for the Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, and Seattle Seahawks.
He had an incredible career at South Carolina before the Texans selected him first overall in the 2014 draft. During his sophomore season, he finished sixth in the Heisman voting and set a record for the school’s single-season sack total.
With rookie quarterback Bryce Young, the Panthers had a league-worst 2-15 record in the previous campaign. In an attempt to turn things around, they brought in former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales as their new head coach.
