Jadeveon Clowney reveals main reason he returned to Texans

Veteran pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney returned to the Houston Texans, the team that made him the No. 1 overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, after signing a one-year contract with the club. 

While speaking with reporters after he officially inked that agreement, Clowney revealed why he left some money on the table to rejoin the Texans. 

Jadeveon Clowney chose pursuit of Super Bowl ring over more money

“Trying to chase that Super Bowl with the Texans,” Clowney explained, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “It wasn’t about money because I could have went other places for a little bit more money than this. But I’m like, it’s Year 13, I started here, go back here, try to win, and see how the rest of my career goes.” 

While Clowney, 33, didn’t reveal the identity of those “other places,” previous stories linked him with the Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots. Most recently, the Patriots notched a 28-16 win over the Texans in the divisional round of the playoffs this past January.

That said, the perception exists that Houston’s defense was already a championship-caliber unit even before the club added Clowney. While with the Dallas Cowboys last season, he tallied 8.5 sacks.

How Jadeveon Clowney is different than what he was with Texans from 2014–18

When the Texans drafted Clowney, some viewed him as a future Defensive Player of the Year Award winner who would eventually become a Hall-of-Fame talent. He never reached the tier of defensive stars occupied by individuals such as Los Angeles Rams pass-rusher Myles Garrett, but Clowney insisted that he is a different person today than he was when he began his pro career. 

“I was a big kid when I first got here,” Clowney added. “I grew up different than a lot of these guys. When I was born, my dad was in jail, single-parent home, I grew up a lot different. I got here, never seen Houston, I enjoyed my time, it was fun, I came up with a great group of guys. Coming back now, I’m a veteran, a lot older, a lot smarter than I was before.”

As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Texans sixth among the betting favorites at +850 odds to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LXI. Perhaps such information will serve as bulletin-board material for Clowney and his teammates through the end of the preseason.