The Houston Texans and veteran pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney are reuniting for the 2026 season per reports on Sunday afternoon. The former number 1 overall pick from the 2014 NFL Draft spent the first 5 seasons of his NFL career with the Texans, appearing in 3x Pro Bowls during that span.
Clowney had been visiting with teams over the last week, including the Cleveland Browns who believed they had made good progress in contract negotiations with the 33 year old’s camp. However, Clowney opted to return to his former team following a productive season with the Dallas Cowboys where he recorded 8.5 sacks in 2025.
In 13 games (six starts) Clowney also recorded 4 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, 41 tackles, 10 QB hits, and 12 tackles for loss. The native of Rock Hill, South Carolina bounced around numerous rosters after leaving the Texans in 2019. He spent time with the Titans, Browns, Ravens, Panthers, and Cowboys between 2019-2025, but will now rejoin a loaded Texans defence that’s hoping to make a deep playoff run in 2026.
While it would be surprising to see Clowney as an every down pass rusher in Houston at this stage of his career, he should add to a fearsome group that already includes Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Henry Too’oTo’o amongst others. Houston led all NFL defences in yards allowed per game last season with 277.2 per contest, and forced the 2nd most turnovers in the league with 17.
With 47 sacks on the year, the Texans ranked 7th across the NFL, but should flirt with a 50+ total this season by adding Clowney to the mix. The veteran defensive lineman got better as the season wore on last fall, culminating in a 3 sack performance against the Giants late in the year. Despite dealing with a hamstring issue, Clowney saw his snap rate climb as the weather grew colder with the Cowboys.
Financial details of the contract have yet to be released publicly.
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