4 Teams That Absolutely Need to Take Advantage of Likely Jadeveon Clowney Trade
By Sean Facey
Jadeveon Clowney's status with the Houston Texans is up in the air, and all signs point to an eventual trade. The two parties are too far apart on a new deal, and there are plenty of suitors who love to bring him in. But of all the teams in the league that could trade for him, these four stand out as the most natural contenders.
4. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons defense has plenty of talent, but they've either under-performed or been too injured for it to show through. An exciting addition like Clowney could help take pressure off of guys like Vic Beasley and open up a plethora of opportunities to terrorize opposing quarterbacks in the upcoming season.
3. Philadelphia Eagles
Doug Pederson's D is already a fairly stout group, but they could certainly shore things up on the edge. Clowney would help offset the loss of Michael Bennett from this offseason. He'd also be a large improvement over 23-year-old Derek Barnett, and his overall versatility could make for a downright terrifying pass-rushing attack in Philly.
2. New York Jets
The Jets already made big-splash moves ahead of the 2019 season by signing Le'Veon Bell and CJ Mosley to massive deals, but adding Clowney to the mix could help make them potential playoff contenders again. They managed just 39 sacks as a team on defense last year, and adding him to the ranks could help offset any problems that may arise from their unproven group of defensive backs.
1. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts still have an absurd amount of money in cap space to accommodate Clowney, and they have a star power vacuum in the wake of Andrew Luck's retirement. A trade for the standout defensive monster could help appease the contingent of the fanbase upset that they lost their franchise star while also giving them production on a defensive unit that ranked 27th in quarterback hits last season. It would be tough to swing an in-division trade, but such a deal would do wonders for the Colts.