FRISCO, Texas — Jadeveon Clowney did not go through an offseason program, a training camp or play in the preseason, but when the Dallas Cowboys take on the Chicago Bears on Sunday, the veteran defensive end will be ready.
“I do expect to play, but I don’t know a snap count,” Clowney said after officially signing with the Cowboys on Monday. “That’s up to the coaches. I remember I walked into Tennessee Week 1 [in 2020] and played like 40 snaps in the first game, and we played in Mile High Denver. So, it’s nothing new to me. It’s football. Just go out there, be physical, play your game. If you get tired, that’s why there’s other guys on your team.”
Clowney actually played 47 snaps six days after signing with the Tennessee Titans. He will have his first practice with the Cowboys on Wednesday.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer said he wouldn’t bet against Clowney possibly playing, “but we don’t need to make that decision today.”
The Cowboys signed him to bolster a pass rush that has recorded four sacks in two games after the trade of Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. Just don’t tell Clowney he is here to replace Parsons.
“Micah Parsons is Micah Parsons. I’m Jadeveon Clowney,” he said. “I’m coming in to do me and just do my thing and try to help in any way I can and play football.”
Clowney, 32, recorded 5.5 sacks last season with the Carolina Panthers, who released him in May. Joining the Cowboys was the priority, according to his agent, Kennard McGuire, and Clowney said he hoped he could have played with Parsons.
“I’m here now and I’m just glad for the opportunity to be here to keep playing football 12 years in,” Clowney said. “Everybody asks me, ‘What makes you want to keep doing this, 12 years in the league? You got the money and all.’ But it’s the competition. It’s the competitor in me. As long as I’ve got that competitive edge and that fair, I feel like I can go out there and do it.”
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Clowney visited the Cowboys last week. With the signing, he rejoins Schottenheimer, who was the offensive coordinator when Clowney played for the Seattle Seahawks in 2019.
The Cowboys have said they like what they have in pass rushers Dante Fowler Jr., Sam Williams, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Marshawn Kneeland and James Houston, and the addition of Clowney just adds to the group.
“This guy is a good football player,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s not here just to be a pass rusher. He’s here to play defense and to affect the game and to stop the run and to affect the quarterback by moving him off the spot. He knows how to play football. So it’ll be exciting to see him out there on the practice field on Wednesday.”
