Um...the Texans have used the tag ONCE in their history(Dunta Robinson). Smart business. I think it has to with Clowney ‘s health and if he continues to get better on the field.
With a guy like him with his motor I can see it going the wrong way. I just think he'd take it as an insult to keep tagging him instead of giving him the money he wants and thinks that he can get elsewhere in FA.
So, a few things. Clowney is a great player so I don't blame him for wanting to get paid. At the same time I'm cautious about giving him this contract and the Texans clearly are too so...why is he still on the team? Around the time of the draft they should have called every other team and offered Clowney and took the highest bidder. That is the clear and obvious move here, if you don't want to pay a superstar player their money then you simply trade them and move on.
The problem was the GM and the HC didn't agree. The GM wanted to resign Clowney long term so he wasn't looking to trade him. But he is gone now and the HC is calling the shots.
Because the Texans have 2 more seasons before they really need to decide whether or not he is worth a long term deal. As you said, there is reason to be cautious but with the way the NFL is set up, they aren't being forced to make that decision right now. Crazy thing is that they aren't forced to make that decision this time next season. There were rumblings that the Texans were listening to offers and there were a few teams (namely the Bills) that could be interested but nothing of substance. Maybe they did and the offers just weren't there. Clowney is a good player but is he good enough for a team to trade a 1st on top of Mack/Donald money? Does a 1st round pick alone move the needle for the Texans?
I would have offered him the same contract as Lawrence with a huge bonus this year, the approximate $20MM for year 2, and a palatable guarantee in year 3 to get to a 3-year value between $60-70MM (Lawrence got 6/$105MM with $65MM guaranteed). If he doesn't stay healthy you can be out from under it after year 3 with no real cap hit in years 4-6. If that was too rich, I'd try to use the Flowers deal (5/$90MM with $56MM guaranteed) to push the dollars lower.
Believe the Chiefs gave up the 29th overall pick plus a 2nd in 2020. Honestly that's not a bad haul for the Seahawks but don't think I'd send Clowney over to a conference rival for that.
Wasted how? Clowney will play this year. They can franchise, sign, or trade him in 2020. How is that wasted? Just because they didn’t do anything now...doesn’t mean squat.
I'll bet money he won't be here in 2020. And if he isn't, what is the point of wasting #1 picks on defense?
Actually, if he wants a big contract, he has competing objectives: 1. Perform well to earn a big payday. 2. Avoid anything that risks injury. 3. Do enough things to piss off the Texans so they won't franchise him again. #1 alone means risking injury, which could kill his payday given his reputation. #1 and #2 just risk getting him franchised again next year.
He feels he's already earned the contract though clearly. I'm sure he isn't sitting there happy being franchised knowing some other team would have probably given him the deal he wanted. This is Clowney we're talking about. It doesn't make me "clueless" just because you have a differing opinion kiddo.
I'm glad the Texans didn't fold to this guys fake hustle. Clowney will play ok and settle for less or we just trade him.
I don’t care. I’ve said for over two years now that they should’ve traded him for a 1st and 2nd round pick. Let some other team overpay him.
There might be a few teams out there willing to give Clowney the deal he's looking for. Question is how many of them are willing to give up draft pick(s) on top of it.