Report: Texans to sign LB Neville Hewitt
Free-agent linebacker Neville Hewitt is signing a one-year contract to rejoin the Houston Texans, ESPN reported on Wednesday. Financial terms were not disclosed for Hewitt, who led the NFL in special teams tackles (14) last season with the Texans. Hewitt, who turns 31 on April 6, totaled 440 tackles, 7.5 sacks, three interceptions and two forced fumbles in 129 career games (44 starts) with the Miami Dolphins (2015-17), New York Jets (2018-20) and Texans. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2015.
The Carolina Panthers flew under the radar and signed free agent outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney on Wednesday. The team did not disclose terms but ESPN and NFL Network reported it’s a two-year deal worth $20 million and up to $24 million with incentives. Clowney fills a big void for a Panthers club that traded Pro Bowl pass rusher Brian Burns to the New York Giants earlier this month and lost Yetur Gross-Matos in free agency. The New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens were
seen as the favorites to land Clowney, a three-time Pro Bowl pick. Clowney, 31, racked up 9.5 sacks in 17 games (15 starts) last season for the Ravens. That matched his career high for sacks, accomplished in 2017. The Panthers will be Clowney’s sixth team. He played his first five seasons with the Houston Texans, who selected him No. 1 overall in the 2014 draft. He has 52.5 career sacks in 126 games (113 starts). Clowney starred at South Carolina before embarking on his NFL career.
