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The Houston Texans now seem willing to trade Jadeveon Clowney. But it might be a hard trade for the Jets to pull off.
It's not that the Jets aren't interested (they are) or that the Texans wouldn't send him to New York (of course they would). It's just that there may be far too many obstacles on both sides to make a blockbuster deal like this happen.
And other teams seem like a much better fit for the unhappy star.
"I'm not sure how much the Jets really want him, or how much (Clowney) wants them," said an executive of a team not interested in Clowney. "It's hard to see Joe (Douglas, the Jets GM) going crazy for a player like him, especially just for a year. It doesn't look like there's a match."
The Jets are certainly on the shortlist of possible destinations for the Texans' holdout star pass-rusher, and the Texans have reportedly talked to them about a deal. That makes sense, since Douglas has admitted his team will "focus" on adding pass-rush help between now and Opening Day, since they never filled their hole at edge rusher during the offseason.
And on the field, Clowney -- who had 18 ½ sacks the last two seasons -- seems like a perfect fit. But there have always been questions about his work ethic and he's also battled injuries at times throughout his five-year career.
That all has to be considered by Douglas because of the cost and risk involved. If the Jets were to acquire Clowney, they'd be responsible for his $15.967 million franchise tag, which is a bit of a problem since, according the NFL Players Association, they only have about $11.3 million in salary cap room. And since Clowney can no longer sign a long-term deal -- the deadline for "franchise" players to do that was July 15 -- he could end up being only a one-year rental.
According to that NFL executive, the feeling around the league is that other teams will likely be more willing than the Jets, and are probably better positioned than the Jets, to take those risks for Clowney.
According to the Houston Chronicle, the Texans have spoken to five teams about Clowney -- the Jets, Dolphins, Seahawks, Eagles and Redskins. Clowney has reportedly already met with Dolphins officials, and the Chronicle said the Seahawks and Eagles were his "preferred" destinations.