The Dallas Cowboys are losing edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, but the state of Texas isn’t.
The veteran edge rusher and former No. 1 overall pick is returning to the team where his career started after agreeing to a contract with the Houston Texans — a team with arguably the NFL’s best defense.
“Reunion: The Texans are signing their own former No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on Sunday. “Clowney, who played last year for the Cowboys, stays in his hometown to play … The Texans add the top edge available, bolstering one of the NFL’s best defenses. Rich get richer.”
Clowney led the Cowboys with 8.5 sacks in 2025 while playing in just 13 games and was on the field for just 31.4 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.
“It’s a $5.5 million base value for Jadeveon Clowney and a maximum value of $8 million, per a league source, for three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher with Texans,” NFL reporter Aaron Wilson wrote on his official X account.
Clowney Firmly in Mercenary Stage of Career
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox doesn’t think Clowney will be unemployed for much longer after he played for the Cowboys on a 1-year, $3.45 million contract in 2025.
That’s a lot of production for not a lot of money, in NFL terms.
Knox called the 2 teams that played in the Super Bowl in February — the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks — the 2 most logical landing spots for Clowney.
It ended up being a different contender.
“For any teams looking to add a defensive mercenary just before training camp, Jadeveon Clowney is the perfect target,” Knox wrote on July 19. “While Clowney never became the franchise centerpiece the Houston Texans hoped they were getting when they drafted him first overall back in 2014. However, he’s been a very productive player throughout his career, often during short-term stints. This past season, for example, Clowney joined the Dallas Cowboys for 13 games and finished with 12 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, and 22 quarterback pressures. He isn’t just a situational edge-rusher, either, and remains a very disruptive force against the run … Clowney would help just about any defense looking to bolster its front, though he might have the most impact by landing with one of the many franchises that can offer a preexisting coaching connection.”
Cowboys Left Scrambling Following 2025 Trade
The Cowboys brought Clowney in to try to fill the void left when they traded NFL All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers before the 2025 season.
Clowney showed he still has some tread left on the tires even though he wasn’t even signed until September 14.
“The Cowboys‘ defense post-Micah Parsons is a work in progress, but the team has some hope that reinforcements are on the way,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote on September 18. “The signing of veteran edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney should help bolster the front while Dallas awaits health improvements on the back end.”
Those improvements never came as the Cowboys finished the season 7-9-1, missed the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive season, and had the NFL’s worst defense.
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