Jadeveon Clowney began his NFL journey as the Texans' No. 1 overall pick in 2014.
With the calendar soon turning to June, is there a possibility the pass rusher returns to the place he last called home in 2018?
"It would be nice," Clowney told Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. "All my family is here. Friends here. The guys I work out with can help me take care of my body a lot better being right up under them. … You never know. You never know what will happen. You never know what's in front of you."
Clowney, the No. 35 overall free agent and one of 11 players remaining in Gregg Rosenthal's top 101 available, spent his first five years in the NFL as a Texan, amassing 29 sacks and going to three Pro Bowls before Houston traded him to Seattle ahead of the 2019 season.
He has yet to return to the heights he enjoyed with his first team. He's managed to add just 14 more sacks while splitting the last four years between the Seahawks, Titans and Browns, and he ended his tenure in Cleveland with a cantankerous whimper in 2022 after being held out of the regular-season finale following complaints about his role.
A return to Houston would mean joining a team that is looking up at most of the league after finishing with the second-worst record last year, but whether as a player or just a spectator, Clowney has faith in a budding turnaround.
"I see they putting the pieces together," he said. "I'm a big fan of their new head coach (DeMeco Ryans). They've got some guys up front I think can go -- Maliek (Collins) and they just got the rookie (Will Anderson) this year -- It'll be a big thing to see what they do this year. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do. Especially since I'm (based) here. I don't know. We'll see what happens."
It would be a fitting homecoming. Ryans is a promising young coach with the defensive prowess to utilize him well. But Clowney should also have options elsewhere. Even with some diminishing returns and less of a burst at 30 years old, he still has the tools to contribute as an edge piece for teams both rebuilding and contending.
"A lot," Clowney said when asked how much he has left in the tank. "I'll show you. We'll see. There's a lot of guys I know that can't outdo me right now. I won't talk about it, I don't like to toot my own horn, I just like to show up and show out."
Wherever he does show up, Clowney has no desire to rush the destination.
"I'm looking to bounce back this year," he said. "I'm not really worried about no timetable or where I end up or how it goes. I just want to continue to play the game I love."
