The Dallas Cowboys revamped their edge rusher position this offseason with 2 headline-grabbing moves — trading for former 1st-round pick Rashan Gary and taking UCF’s Malachi Lawrence in the 1st round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
That means out of that group of underachievers from the previous season, many are still looking for new homes, including former No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney.
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 and finished with 8.5 sacks in just 13 games while playing just 31.4 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.
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.
“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.”
Clowney Could Reunite With 1 of Several Old Teams
Clowney previously played for the Seahawks for 1 season, in 2019, and that’s not the only 1 of his old teams he could be in line for a reunion with.
He played for the Ravens in 2023 and recently said he’s open to coming back for Round 2 in 2026.
“They take pride in their defense,” Clowney told NFL reporter Aaron Wilson in May. “I enjoyed the locker room. The guys that was in the locker room was an extremely fun group of guys. A lot of leaders was on that team, a lot of guys that respect the game of football. They got a lot of good guys that I can relate to in that locker room. I’ll definitely be open to going back to Baltimore, playing with Lamar Jackson now. It was a great time for me.”
Clowney, 33 years old, had a career-high 9.5 sacks playing for the Ravens in 2023 under former defensive coordinator and current Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald.
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 by putting up a team-high 8.5 sacks in just 13 games — 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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