The Dallas Cowboys have spent most of the offseason investing in their defense, and that’s expected to continue moving forward, especially with the NFL Draft coming up. However, with all of the new additions, the Cowboys haven’t re-signed their 2025 sack leader, Jadeveon Clowney, yet. It doesn’t sound like Dallas plans to bring him back either.
Team owner Jerry Jones recently spoke with the media at the NFL’s annual meetings, and he was asked about a potential Clowney return.
Jones made it clear that the Cowboys aren't currently working to sign the veteran defender, saying, “It’s real hard not to have a place there for Clowney, but you can’t have it all.” The owner went on to explain that Dallas is hoping the moves it made, in addition to who the team adds in the draft, will be a better option than re-signing Clowney (h/t Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram).
“It’s real hard when you look at how Clowney came on last year in the snaps he gave us. It’s real hard not to have a place there for Clowney, but you can’t have it all. You just can’t have it all. If things go right for us, we’ve already made a signing, we’ve made trades, we think that’s the better way to go. And, of course, we got the draft. It can very easily answer some of that question.”
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleThe Dallas Cowboys seemingly don’t plan on bringing Jadeveon Clowney back
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 Draft, Clowney has been lending his pass rush skills to several teams for 12 seasons.
The three-time Pro Bowler inked a one-year deal with Dallas last September, and he proved to be a solid pickup, recording 8.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 40 pressures, and a 70.6 run-defense grade, per Pro Football Focus.
Both Jerry and Stephen Jones were adamant as recently as December about wanting Clowney back.
However, their tune changed after Christian Parker was hired as defensive coordinator. Inserting a 3-4 base defense, Parker will ask his outside linebackers to wear multiple hats, including dropping back into coverage. With Clowney approaching his age-34 season, it's fair to wonder how effective he can be dropping into coverage. Parker may want a younger profile.
Headlined by Donovan Ezeiruaku and Rashan Gary, the edge room still needs a lot of work. With two first-round picks, the Cowboys could land one of the top edge rushers in the class. And you can never rule out this front office from signing a veteran post-draft.
The room is going to look a lot different between now and training camp, but it doesn't sound like Clowney factors into the equation. That's unfortunate given the impact he made last season, but it just goes to show how much scheme fit matters to Parker.