The Carolina Panthers now have some potentially prolific weapons on their defensive front with the signing of Jadaveon Clowney ahead of the 2022 season.
Clowney, a former South Carolina Gamecock, returns to the Carolinas where he was once the #1 high school recruit in the nation.
After a week of rumblings involving the Panthers and Clowney, the two finally came to an agreement Thursday. There were rumors of the Dolphins and Texans also being interested in signing Clowney, but ultimately Clowney decided that he was impressed mostly by the Panthers pursuit and wanting to come back to the Carolinas.
“It meant a lot, man,” Clowney said Wednesday of Carolina’s pursuit. “It means you’re wanted by somebody. You can tell that [if] somebody really wants you, they’re gonna use you the right way, so that was another big part of me making my decision. They wanted me and when you’re wanted by somebody, you can’t just turn it down like a relationship.”
Clowney will likely be a starter, of course, but he will likely serve as a situational player for the Panthers who were #27th against the run – which is Clowney’s strength. He’s better at collapsing pockets and disrupting running plays than generating sacks. It will be interesting to see how the Panthers use him along with Brian Burns and Hassan Reddick.
