Neither Jadeveon Clowney nor Robbie Gould have signed their franchise tags with their respective teams, and that's not the only thing they have in common.
Clowney and Gould will not attend the three-day mandatory minicamps for the Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers, respectively, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday.
Both offseason workouts are scheduled to kick off Tuesday, but don't expect either player to be there.
Of the six players to receive the franchise tag in 2019, only Clowney, Gould and Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett have not signed a long-term deal, after or without being traded. While Jarrett has signed his tag and intends to attend Atlanta's mandatory workout, Clowney and Gould have different ideas.
Clowney is aiming for a long-term deal in Houston, as are the Texans. In April, then-Texans general manager Brian Gaine said that signing the Pro Bowl pass rusher to a long-term contract was "still the plan." The problem is now Gaine is no longer in the building, fired last week out of nowhere. It's unclear whether Houston's interim GM Chris Olsen has the authority to strike a deal with Clowney while the Texans' search for Gaine's replacement continues.
The former first-overall pick already did not attend voluntary OTAs to make a statement on the matter. Texans coach Bill O'Brien said in May that while he has no idea when Clowney will return to the team, "I have every belief and trust that JD is working on his own and getting ready for whenever he does decide to show up."
Clowney is set to make around $15.97 million on the tag, if and when he signs it. The deadline for the two sides to come to an agreement on a contract extension in July 15, roughly one month away and before the start of training camp.
"We understand that he doesn't want to live here long-term and he's made that clear to us, and we get that," Niners coach Shanahan said in April. "But, we do have a franchise tag and he's that good of a kicker that he's worth franchising. So, unfortunately we know we're not going to have him long-term here. I think that's been pretty clear. No hard feelings about that."
The Niners won't be going into minicamp kicker-less; San Francisco also employs fourth-year booter Jon Brown.
The 37-year-old Gould is set to make $4.97 million on the tag, but whether he signs it and plays for San Francisco at all in 2019 remains to be seen.
