Signing Clowney shows progress for a Carolina Panthers team starting to look promising
The Carolina Panthers still have hundreds of miles to go. But I’m beginning to think that the compass needle is slowly moving toward north at Bank of America Stadium.
The signing of edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney Wednesday was the latest example of a smart move by a bad team that at least understands what it lacks. Clowney, who reportedly signed for two years at around $20 million, is 31 years old and has bounced around the NFL on a series of one-year deals the last few years.
But the former No. 1 overall pick of the 2014 draft can still play. Clowney registered 9.5 sacks last season in Baltimore, which tied his career high and was more sacks than any Carolina Panther had in 2023. He’s also about as local as you can get outside of left tackle Ickey Ekwonu. Clowney grew up in Rock Hill and starred at both South Pointe High and then South Carolina, where as a Gamecock he made a helmet-removing tackle against Michigan, which remains one of the most recognizable defensive plays in football history.
The Carolinas connection is not just a bonus for Clowney, but undoubtedly part of the pull. Clowney has now played for a half-dozen NFL teams but will suit up for the first time since college within driving distance of most of his family.
And man, do the Panthers ever need some edge rushers, after trading away star Brian Burns (without getting a first-round pick back) and losing Frankie Luvu to free agency. Carolina only managed 27 sacks in 2023, which was dead last in the NFL. And 24.5 of those 27 sacks, or 91%, have left the building through free agency or trades. Baltimore, by contrast, had an NFL-high 60 sacks last season, so Clowney had a lot of help.
So some other guys who can bother the opposing QB needed toget to Charlotte. Clowney and fellow free agent D.J. Wonnum (8.0 sacks in 2023) will be counted on to do a lot of that.
Is Clowney too old to lead the Panthers in sacks? I don’t think so. Certainly it’s possible his age will catch up to him, but this is a worthwhile gamble.
And, like quarterback, pass rusher is a place where the great ones can play into their mid- to late-30s. Let’s remember that Kevin Greene had three double-digit sack years in his three seasons for Carolina, and he performed those feats at ages 34, 36 and 37, playing roughly the same edge-rushing position in a 3-4 defensive scheme that Clowney will.
Clowney is now scheduled to play his age-31 and age-32 seasons in Carolina in 2024 and 2025. And while he’s never had a double-digit sack season in his career, he is undoubtedly both a difference-maker and a “dawg,” to use general manager Dan Morgan’s favorite term of endearment.
Morgan has been churning the Carolina roster the way a bunch of middle-school kids rock the pool at a last-day-of-school party, but that’s understandable. It happens in the NFL every year to an extent, but you certainly don’t stand pat when you went 2-15 the year before and didn’t run a single fourth-quarter offensive play with the lead for an entire season. In most offseasons, Morgan ideally wouldn’t sign so many free agents, but this isn’t most offseasons.
The Panthers will need to introduce themselves to each other and their fans when they first meet, and the 2024 NFL draft (Carolina now has both the #33 and the #39 picks) is still to come in late April, with another influx of newbies.
Of the dozen or so most significant moves that Morgan has made, my least favorite remains trading Burns for a second- and a fifth-round pick. I just don’t think the Panthers got enough for a player who in 2022 had the L.A. Rams willing to ship two first-round picks and a third to Carolina for him. And if you’re really going to build through the draft, as the Panthers like to preach, why do you keep trading away guys like Burns, DJ Moore and Christian McCaffrey?
But since those early free agency days of several weeks ago, when Carolina lost both Burns and Luvu and country music star/Panther superfan Luke Combs was tweeting “Are we just fire bombing the whole team here or what?”, Morgan has been making some laudable moves. At the least, they speak of common sense. At the most, they will turn out to be really good.
My two favorite offseason moves the Panthers have made so far: signing Clowney Tuesday and trading for Pittsburgh wide receiver Diontae Johnson earlier this month.
The Panthers spent far more for their new offensive guards, so Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis sure better be great at protecting Bryce Young given the salary-cap dollars flowing their way. But Johnson (questionable attitude) and Clowney (age) both have a perceived flaw that meant they were far more affordable, even though their talent is unquestioned.
Carolina and new coach Dave Canales have to take some chances like that. The Panthers still need another couple of playmakers on offense. Watching last year’s offense felt like watching a slowly buffering video that loaded after three hours, only to show a test pattern (ask your parents what one of those is, kids!)
The good news is that the Panthers are at least putting themselves in position to no longer be horrendous. It’s an uphill battle just to reach mediocrity these days.
But Clowney? That’s progress.
This story was originally published March 28, 2024 at 6:30 AM.
