If you thought the Texans got fleeced yesterday, you haven’t heard the whole story.
Not only did Houston give Jadeveon Clowney to Seattle and receive only two backups and a third-round draft pick, but Houston is also giving Clowney $7 million.
As part of the Seahawks-Texans trade, Clowney’s pay this season won’t be the usual $15.967 million base salary that comes with the franchise tender. Instead, it will be a $7 million signing bonus paid by the Texans, followed by an $8 million base salary paid by the Seahawks. Schefter also reports that the Seahawks agreed not to franchise Clowney next year.
That’s a bizarre concession from Texans coach Bill O’Brien, who now makes the personnel decisions. It would be one thing to move on from Clowney because you want to save the cap space for other players. It’s quite another thing to move on from Clowney and take a $7 million cap hit in the process.
O’Brien’s pair of highly unorthodox moves yesterday -- trading Clowney and giving up two first-round picks and a second-round pick to acquire Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills -- put his job on the line. O’Brien has to win, and win now.