The Carolina Panthers are going to regret releasing Jadeveon Clowney. To be sure, there were some arguments in favor of the move, including the extra salary cap room that it created for the 2025 season and allowing two high draft picks more room to develop in the NFL.
That said, there were more reasons against it - the one at the top of the list being that this roster was definitely not deep enough at edge to absorb a loss like that at the top of the rotation. The Panthers could have had a very solid OLB group going into next season, but on paper right now it looks to be average-at-best and leaning heavily on two players who have yet to see the field at this level.
And so Clowney is a free agent waiting to cash in once again. To varying degrees, all of his previous stops in the NFL (Houston, Seattle, Tennessee, Cleveland and Baltimore) are all candidates for a reunion. However, according to Gilberto Manzano at Sports Illustrated, the best fit for Clowney is the Arizona Cardinals.
SI links Jadeveon Clowney, Cardinals
"Earlier this month, the Panthers surprisingly cut Clowney, one of their few reliable defenders last season. Clowney, 32, is no longer a starting edge rusher, but he can help in obvious passing situations as a rotational player. The Cardinals should pursue Clowney to continue building depth on the defensive line. Clowney could come off the bench to help Josh Sweat and Darius Robinson, the 2024 first-round pick who had growing pains as a rookie."
Arizona is where careers go to die and the NFC West remains a tough nut to crack. However, the Cards did appear to have put together a strong 2025 draft class - and if Marvin Harrison Jr. can rebound from a rough rookie year they're going to be more dangerous than most fans think.
If he does sign with Arizona, Clowney would be joining an already-solid defensive front-seven that includes Calais Campbell, who's returned to the Cards after playing eight seasons with a variety of other teams around the league.
Painful as it is to admit, Clowney to the Cardinals actually does make sense. However, if he wants to play for a contender he'll likely have to look somewhere else.
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