Latest sports news: Jadeveon Clowney on Eagles’ radar, along with at least four other teams
Jadeveon Clowney tallied just three sacks in 13 games last season, but he is still one of the most disruptive players available in free agency.
Jadeveon Clowney has had one of the strangest free agencies of the 2020 offseason.
He entered the market as one of the best defensive ends and pass rushers available. Reports said that Clowney was aiming to get $20 million per year, but all he has seen is Arik Armstead, Matt Judon, Dante Fowler, and Shaquil Barrett ink long-term deals.
Clowney rumors had gone quiet until a recent video of him working out in Houston appeared on social media. Mark Berman of Fox26 reported that the Seahawks, Browns, Titans, Ravens and Eagles are interested in Clowney.
Clowney has played in 4-3 and 3-4 defenses and he is a dominant force against the run and pass, so throw fit out the window. He has proven that he can excel in different schemes, so the best situation for Clowney would likely be the team with the best pieces alongside him.
The Eagles, Ravens and Titans offer the best chance to free up Clowney to be disruptive. The chances of Clowney being double-teamed while playing with that fearsome Ravens front seven, Fletcher Cox or teaming up with Harold Landry are slim.
Cox, Javon Hargrave and Malik Jackson give the Eagles one of the most stout defensive lines up the middle. Cox would be the best defensive lineman Clowney has played with since J.J. Watt in Houston, when Clowney made three consecutive Pro Bowls in his last three years there. Clowney, of course, was the Seahawks player whose hit on Carson Wentz knocked the Eagles quarterback out of their wild-card playoff game in January at the Linc.
The Seahawks and Browns have a need for Clowney. Seattle traded for Clowney before last season, but he battled injuries and had his least-productive season since his rookie year. The Browns (20th) and Seahawks (29th) both finished in the bottom tier of the NFL in sack production. Lining up Clowney opposite Myles Garrett would give the Browns one of the best defensive end tandems in the NFL.
At this point, a long-term deal seems unlikely after teams have gone splurging on free agents in March, but each of his five options can offer Clowney a strong one-year deal that will allow him to test the market again next year. Whatever deal he signs, he seems motivated to get going.
The Eagles and Browns appear to be the best fits, but the Seahawks and Titans have been the most active in contract talks.
The case for Diana Taurasi as greatest women’s basketball player
The Last Dance has reignited talk about Michael Jordan being the greatest NBA player of all time, but who takes the crown on the women’s side? Sue Bird, a 18-year veteran of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, made a case for former UConn and Team USA teammate Diana Taurasi.
“I think game-wise, she’s more Magic,” Bird said in reference to Magic Johnson’s playmaking abilities in an Instagram live chat with Geno Auriemma. “I think mindset, very similar [to Jordan].”
You can’t forget Tina Thomspon, Tamika Catchings, Lisa Leslie and Maya Moore, but Taurasi’s track record is legendary. She has won three NCAA titles, three WNBA championships and four Olympic gold medals. She became the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer in 2017, passing Thompson. Taurasi accomplished the feat in her 377th career game while it took Thompson 496 games. The distance between Taurasi and Thompson is larger than the scoring gap between second and sixth place.
And it’s not like Taurasi is just a scorer. She was the first WNBA player to reach 7,000 points, 1,500 rebounds and 1,500 assists. That is why Bird said she’s more like Magic Johnson than Jordan.
The mentality to be the greatest is also there. Before losing in the 2018 playoffs to the Seattle Storm in the decisive Game 5, Taurasi was 13-0 in winner-take-all games.