5 free agents the Carolina Panthers should avoid in 2021
By Dean Jones
Jadeveon Clowney – DE
- 2020 team: Tennessee Titans
Jadeveon Clowney spent most of the last free agency period looking for a new home. His trade to the Seattle Seahawks didn’t exactly go to plan and couple this with what the player was looking for from a salary standpoint, it was late in the day before he got a realistic offer to land on the Tennessee Titans.
Clowney underperformed somewhat during the season, which eventually finished with a trip to the reserve/injured list. This was the latest in a series of disappointments surrounding a player who was once considered to be the best defensive lineman prospect to enter the league in a generation before he was taken No. 1 overall by the Houston Texans in 2014.
The former South Carolina sensation hasn’t been a bust by any stretch of the imagination. But if Clowney wants a bumper new deal from another team this offseason, he didn’t exactly leave the best impression during his one season with the Titans where he failed to record a single sack from eight games and 428 snaps.
Even if Carolina could afford this kind of move, they shouldn’t entertain the thought.
The Panthers made some encouraging strides on their defensive front as the season went on. So with another preparation period to develop and a couple of reinforcements on the depth chart, this trend should continue in 2021.