In Baltimore, during his eleventh NFL season, Panthers pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney tied a career high in sacks. In his first season at Carolina, he wants to improve on that.
The first overall choice in the 2014 draft referred to 2023 as his “Kobe Bryant” year during his inaugural press conference.
“I knew I could play the game and make plays, so that was really important for me,” Clowney stated, as reported by David Newton of ESPN.com. “I often tell people that if I play in 16 or 17 games, the season will appear to be one in which I participate in the Pro Bowl. Just go out there and play; I know I can make the plays no matter which team I’m on. That’s all I have to do. All I have to do is make time for myself and be available. The more I age, the more I learn how to maintain my health.
According to Clowney, he moved to No. 24 in homage to Bryant’s move to the same number.
“It was the year I became Kobe Bryant—the killer came back,” Clowney remarked. “Kobe [year] was my choice because I didn’t have my greatest season there due to a lot of things that happened during my time there. That article about me claiming all of this regarding what was happening was published.
The article relied on Clowney’s assertion that the Browns were biased toward Myles Garrett and that the defense was set up to enhance Garrett’s opportunities for success.
Clowney will give up No. 24 this year and go back to No. 7, which is his high school and college number. No. 24, he claimed, has fulfilled its function.
“I told them I just needed one chance to prove to them that I’m not the guy they portray me as and that I can still perform at a high level,” Clowney remarked. “I wanted to show people that’s all I wanted to do during the whole offseason.”
Clowney has demonstrated his worth numerous times. He has never had double-digit sacks, but he still causes disruptions and makes it simpler for other players to get to the person holding the ball. He’s a maestro at “effing up the play,” as Chris Simms puts it (I was going to use that term, but, hey, it’s Easter). As Clowney stated, he can still complete it if he’s in good health.
The biggest if is that. In 2023, he appeared in 17 games, starting 15 of them. He hadn’t played in every game of the regular season since 2017.
The fact that he participated in every game last year is quite astounding. After his rookie season, he underwent microfracture surgery. That is an operation meant to treat a bone-on-bone situation.
He is still active nine seasons in. And in Baltimore, he enjoyed one of his best years to date.
