Jadeveon Clowney is headed back to Houston for his 13th NFL season, and the move brings the former South Carolina star full circle.
The Texans are signing Clowney to a one-year contract, reuniting him with the franchise that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. News of the deal broke Sunday.
Clowney, now 33, spent last season with the Dallas Cowboys and turned in a strong year, leading the team with 8.5 sacks and adding 12 tackles for loss. That production, one sack shy of his career high, showed he still has plenty to offer.
“I’ve grown up and learned the game a lot more since leaving,” Clowney told the Houston Chronicle of his decision. “...
I’ve learned how to lead and what it takes to get to a Super Bowl. I feel like I can help this team.”
The return sends him back to the place where he played his first five NFL seasons and earned three Pro Bowl selections before being traded in 2019. Since then, Clowney has bounced around to five other teams, including the Carolina Panthers in 2024, his hometown club. He also considered the Cleveland Browns, where he played from 2021-22, before choosing Houston.
Clowney’s place in South Carolina football history remains untouched. Thirteen years after he left Columbia, he is still one of the program’s most celebrated players, with USC’s single-season records for sacks at 13.0 and tackles for loss at 23.5. He also owns the school’s single-game sack record with 4.5 against Clemson in 2012.
He was part of the most successful three-year run in Gamecocks history, when South Carolina went 33-6 from 2011-13 under Steve Spurrier.
A Rock Hill native and South Pointe High School graduate, Clowney remains the top modern-era high school football recruit in 247Sports’ rankings. He is one of two South Carolina players to go No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft, joining George Rogers, and his jersey was retired in 2022.
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