Key Takeaways
- Jadeveon Clowney is returning to the Houston Texans after a career-reviving season with the Dallas Cowboys, saying he’s matured, learned how to lead, and wants to help a stacked defense chase a Super Bowl rather than just a big payday.
- Clowney joins Houston coming off a late-start, breakout year in Dallas where he led the team with 8.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 33 pressures, and a three-sack finale against the Giants that capped one of the best stretches of his career.
- His season followed a brief off-field scare in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where he was arrested on misdemeanor trespassing and failure-to-identify charges that were quickly dismissed, which he later called a “big misunderstanding.”
Jadeveon Clowney is going home. After reviving his career with the Dallas Cowboys last season, the veteran pass rusher has agreed to reunite with the Houston Texans—the franchise that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. The signing marks a full-circle moment for Clowney, whose road back to Houston included a late-season resurgence, an offseason legal scare that ultimately disappeared, and stops with six different NFL teams.
Clowney confirmed his decision after reports from NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, telling the Houston Chronicle that he's a different player than the one who left Houston seven years ago.
"I have grown up and learned the game a lot more since" his first stint with the Texans, he said.
Clowney believes that experience can immediately benefit one of the NFL's most talented defenses. "I feel like I can help the younger guys. I've learned how to lead and what it takes to get to a Super Bowl. I feel like I can help this team," he said.
He also emphasized that returning wasn't about securing the biggest payday: "It was a really easy decision. It wasn't about the money."
Houston is adding Clowney to a defensive front that already features All-Pro edge rushers Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, who combined for 27 sacks last season.
Clowney brings plenty of production himself after leading the Cowboys with 8.5 sacks in 2025 despite not signing until mid-September. He gradually earned a larger role as the season progressed, finishing with 41 tackles, a team-high 12 tackles for loss, 33 quarterback pressures, four pass breakups, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
His three-sack finale against the New York Giants capped one of the strongest stretches of his career.
That production came after an eventful start to his Cowboys tenure. Just days before signing with Dallas, Clowney was arrested in his hometown of Rock Hill, South Carolina, after a disagreement with police over parking near a high school football game.
Officers working security at a private apartment complex said Clowney refused repeated requests to provide identification after attempting to park there while visiting his aunt. He was arrested on misdemeanor charges of trespassing and failure to identify.
Clowney later described the incident as a "big misunderstanding," and the arrest had no impact on his standing with the Cowboys or his ability to contribute on the field.
