Jadeveon Clowney's Houston Reunion Comes With Emotional Twist

Jadeveon Clowney's reunion with the Houston Texans brings experienced talent to an already formidable defense as he returns after a standout 8.5-sack season.

Jadeveon Clowney is heading back to Houston.

The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft is set to reunite with the Texans, according to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo. It’s a homecoming for Clowney, who played last season with the Dallas Cowboys and is now returning to the team that made him the top selection in the draft.

Clowney’s latest stop comes after one of the better pass-rushing seasons of his career. At 32 last season, he finished with 8.5 sacks for Dallas, the third-highest total he has posted in a season. Now he moves about 250 miles south and joins a Texans defense that already carried elite credentials.

Houston’s defense under coordinator Matt Burke was already one of the league’s best in 2025-26. The Texans finished second in opponent points per game at 17.4, fourth in opponent rush yards at 93.7 per game, sixth in opponent pass yards at 183.5 per game, and sixth in sacks with 47.

The contract is a one-year deal that can reach about $8 million, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. The deal has a base value of $5.5 million and can climb to the full $8 million.

For Clowney, it’s his first time back in Houston since 2018. He was drafted first overall by the Texans in 2014 after a standout college career at South Carolina.

Across 12 seasons and seven teams, Clowney has played in 153 games and totaled 66.5 sacks, 450 tackles, 296 solo stops and 154 assists.

Clowney is listed as 33 years old on his Pro Football Reference page. He was born on February 14, 1993, in Rock Hill, S.C.

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