Jadeveon Clowney says he has ‘more in the tank’ after Panthers release him

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jadeveon Clowney has bounced around to several different teams during the latter part of his career, but the veteran edge rusher had never been released … until Thursday.

Two weeks after taking a pair of SEC pass rushers during the second night of the NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers cut Clowney in the biggest of several roster moves before Friday’s start of rookie camp.

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The release ends Clowney’s stint with his hometown-ish team a year earlier than he anticipated. The native of Rock Hill, S.C., who was the No. 1 pick out of South Carolina in 2014, signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the Panthers last March. Clowney, who tied defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson for the team lead with 5 1/2 sacks in 2024, said this isn’t the end of his playing days.

“I’m definitely gonna play well. You can mark my word on that. I don’t care where I end up playing at, I’m gonna play extremely well,” Clowney said Thursday afternoon during a phone interview with The Athletic.

“I think I played well for Carolina (last) year, considering the circumstances that was unfolded for me. I played with a bunch of guys that was hurt this past year. And I ended up playing extremely well for them. So it is what it is. I can play the game. I can play football. There are 31 other teams. I just hope another team gives me that opportunity so I can prove myself again. I feel like I can do that.”

Clowney’s future with the team had been in question since the Panthers selected edge rushers Nic Scourton of Texas A&M and Princely Umanmielen of Ole Miss in the second and third rounds, respectively. General manager Dan Morgan was noncommittal when asked that night if the Panthers were considering moving on from the 32-year-old Clowney.

“We’re still working through the roster,” Morgan said. “We’re still talking through things.”

But Clowney said he had a feeling his time with the Panthers might be nearing a close when he reported for the start of organized team activities a few days before the draft.

“I went to OTAs Day 1 and they kinda told me they weren’t expecting me to be there. I got a sense then they wanted me out of the building,” he said. “I was just like, ‘Y’all could’ve told me this back when I was coming in here during the offseason.’ I kinda had a sense, though. I’ve been around the game long enough to know, so I was OK.”

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Morgan reached out to several teams before the draft to gauge trade interest in Clowney, then unsuccessfully shopped him again following the draft, according to a league source. Releasing Clowney creates $7.8 million in salary-cap space for the Panthers, with $6 million in dead money, according to Over the Cap. That gives the Panthers a little more financial flexibility if they want to pursue a veteran safety or address depth at another position.

Clowney played in 14 of 17 games last year for a defense that lost veterans Derrick Brown and Shaq Thompson to season-ending injuries in the first month. D.J. Wonnum, another edge rusher who signed last March, missed the first nine games due to a series of setbacks following quad surgery.

The pass rush improved when Wonnum returned in November. But bigger issues remained for a defense that gave up the most points in NFL history while becoming just the third team to allow 3,000 yards rushing in a season. It was not what Clowney envisioned coming off a 9 1/2-sack season in 2023 with Baltimore, which lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game that season.

“A lot of guys got hurt up front. The guys I went in there intending on playing with I didn’t end up playing with. A lot of guys they counted on that was supposed to be on our team, that they expected to make plays and they paid … wasn’t there. And then on top of that, we was behind the 8-ball a lot, getting scored on and couldn’t score. It was like, you can’t rush, you can’t stop the run, you’re in a bad situation. That’s just football.”

With Clowney now a free agent, the 27-year-old Wonnum becomes the most experienced voice in an outside linebackers room that includes Scourton, Umanmielen, free-agent acquisition Patrick Jones II and returning players Amare Barno, DJ Johnson, Thomas Incoom and Kenny Dyson.

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Meanwhile, Clowney, who’s been training in Houston since that first day of OTAs, will look for a fresh start elsewhere.

“I got more in the tank than people think,” said Clowney, who went to three consecutive Pro Bowls with Houston from 2016 to 2018. “I just keeping bringing it, and they’re gonna keep counting me out. I’ll just keep worrying about what’s in the house. And nobody lives with me but my family, so that’s all that matters.”

(Photo: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)

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