Expectations that the Texans would use the franchise tag on Jadeveon Clowney were realized on Monday when the team announced the move a day ahead of the deadline to use it.
With that out of the way, the two sides now have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports that such an agreement is “not close” to happening at this point. That’s not a great surprise as recent reports indicated the Texans were happy to have Clowney play out the year on the tag and that deadlines tend to spur action on the contract front.
Given how franchise tag situations tend to play out, it’s also no surprise that Wilson reports that Clowney is not expected to sign the franchise tender anytime soon. Wilson adds that Clowney isn’t expected to take part in any offseason work with the team either and that missing training camp could also be on the agenda.
Clowney stands to make at least $15.967 million under the tag as that is 120 percent higher than last year’s salary. That’s higher than the tag for linebackers, but below the defensive end tag of $17.12 million and the Texans listed him at both positions when announcing the tag.