It’s way too early to call Jadeveon Clowney a bust. However, his rookie season has been awful so far. Everything that people were concerned about in the lead-up to the NFL Draft has manifested himself. Is he healthy? Is he all that interested? How truly motivated to play is Jadeveon Clowney? In college it was easy to dismiss those concerns because it was pretty clear- he needs to look out for himself to make sure he doesn’t get hurt, and that he gets paid.
Given the stupid rule that he couldn’t go pro; and the even dumber fundamental rule that he couldn’t be compensated in any way shape or form, it’s understandable why Clowney behaved the way he did. Not a red flag at all. Not even close.
However, now that he’s getting paid, what explains this…….
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Houston Texans linebacker Jadeveon Clowney:
“The Texans coaches and staff members are becoming frustrated with number one overall pick Jadeveon Clowney. We know he missed several weeks earlier in the season with a knee injury; did not quite come back as soon as they had hoped. This week, he’s ill; he may not actually play today. What they want is for him to start showing some maturity and learn to play through some of these ailments.
“As a source just mentioned to me, this is really the first time Clowney has faced any sort of injury; didn’t really happen in college and now they want him to try to play through it in the NFL. They are frustrated with their number one overall pick.”
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2