Smart front offices do what’s necessary to get impact players when money is tight.
And even though Jadeveon Clowney signed a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans, it almost didn’t end up that way.
Over the weekend, NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported the New Orleans Saints were willing to pull out all the stops in their pursuit of Clowney. The Saints checked in with teams with cap space and attempted to pull off a sign-and-trade to land Clowney. In return, the team taking the hit would get a playerand second-round pick to offset acquisition costs.
The only problem is that this type of transaction is not allowed by the NFL. Thus, killing the deal.
And even if it was going to go down, it might not have been the Saints ending up with Clowney.
Mike Florio (Pro Football Talk) reports the Baltimore Ravens would have ended up with the Ravens had the NFL given the OK for such a deal to go through. For the Ravens to get Clowney, they would have used the Jaguars’ ample cap space to sign the deal, then send draft-pick compensation to finish things off. Ultimately, the deal couldn’t go through because the league didn’t give it the green light. That’s a shame. Following such wheeling-and-dealing would have been neat. Maybe the NFL should open up to these types of moves for the sake of competition, creativity, and content purposes.
In the end, Clowney signed with the Titans on a one-year deal worth $15 million. The Bears are scheduled to face the Titans later in the year. But if it’s any consolation, at least he didn’t sign with a team that might end up competing for a postseason spot with them.