This year’s Baltimore Ravens defense was loaded with talent, but with multiple players due to hit free agency, it’s improbable that the same unit will return for 2024.
Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was a home run acquisition last offseason, but now that the Ravens are tight on cap space, should fans expect to see him playing in Baltimore next season?
Coming off of a two-sack season with the Cleveland Browns, there wasn’t much fanfare when the Ravens signed Clowney, the 2014 No. 1 overall pick, but he would prove to be a steal.
In 2023, Clowney had 9.5 sacks, tying his regular season career-high from back when he was a Pro Bowler with the Houston Texans and even setting a new overall season high when you factor in his playoff sack.
Could his career resurrection be exactly why he leaves in free agency, though?
“Clowney has found a version of the fountain of youth under defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald in Baltimore, setting a career-high in pressures with 69 and logging his highest sack total (9.5) since his last year in Houston in 2018,” AtoZSports writes.
“This resurgence should help Clowney cash in yet again on another one-year pact while getting him back to an eight-figure payday.”
Baltimore lost Macdonald this offseason when the Seattle Seahawks offered him the opportunity to be the team’s head coach.
One would have to imagine that Clowney would be interested in potentially following the man who helped breathe life back into his career as a pass rusher.
Between Macdonald no longer being with the Ravens and Clowney potentially commanding a pricier contract than Baltimore can afford to offer him with its limited salary cap space.