Jadeveon Clowney quietly put together one of the best seasons of his career in 2023 with the Baltimore Ravens. He matched his career best with 9.5 sacks, adding nine tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and nine passes defensed. Baltimore suited him well, and vice versa, so the fact that he sounds like he wants to return surprises nobody.
“I was looking forward to coming to work every day”, he said at the end of the season, via the team’s website, seemingly in contrast to the rest of his career. That’s the perspective his agent shared, according to head coach John Harbaugh. “This is the first year he ended the season happy”, his agent said.
Along with his individual success, the Ravens won 13 games in the regular season and advanced to the conference finals. Clowney had never played a game beyond the Divisional Round in his 10-year career prior to this past season. He certainly enjoyed his time in Cleveland less. He produced there as well. But he found a new home in Baltimore, perhaps.
Clowney played under a one-year contract last season worth roughly $2.5 million. The Browns are still paying for him in dead money against their cap in 2024 for even greater amounts. Entering his age-31 season, he has earned nearly $80 million in his career. He’s long past playing for the money, so from that perspective he seems likely to re-sign with the Ravens.
They’ve needed Clowney as much as he’s needed them. The Ravens’ recent investments in the edge rusher position through the draft have not developed. Former first-round pick Odafe Oweh is not who they’d hoped for. Former second-round pick David Ojabo has hardly found the field while trying to overcome a serious pre-draft knee injury. You can go back to 2017 second-round pick Tyus Bowser, who has 19.5 career sacks in 89 games.
The Ravens dealt with injuries at the edge position in 2023, forcing them to rely upon aging veterans. But they received the level of play needed from Clowney and 32-year-old Kyle Van Noy, who added nine sacks himself.
“I want to win a Super Bowl; I’m just going to continue to push towards that through my career”, Clowney said at the end of the season, and the reality is he may have the best chance to do that by remaining in Baltimore.
“Like I said, I enjoyed coming to work. It made my life a lot easier this year. That’s probably why I played at a high level because I [didn’t] have any pressure”, he added. “I would just come in, have fun and be yourself and just play ball. There was never any pressure throughout the week on anybody, but yes, I would love to come back here”.
Even though he put together a strong bounce-back season, I question how much of a market Clowney finds. He excelled in the Ravens’ system, but how many other teams can provide him the environment that he needs to flourish?
