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Jadeveon Clowney is loving life now. He’s on a contender, and playing a key role, and still on the verge of a massive payday.

But the Seahawks defensive end said he’d have been just as happy in Houston this year, until he was told that wasn’t happening..

Clowney told Mike Silver of NFL Network that he wasn’t agitating for a move out of Houston this offseason, and that he’d have been fine staying there under the one-year franchise tender which he planned to sign just before the start of the regular season.

But he was equally clear that he didn’t want any part of a potential trade to the Dolphins, and that he felt blindsided when coach Bill O’Brien said he wasn’t in the plans for the future there.

“It was getting close to the time I said I’d come in, and all of a sudden [O’Brien] called me and said, ‘You need to come in and talk to us,'” Clowney said. “When I got there they’re talking about me signing the tender and going to the Dolphins. They said, ‘It’ll be good for you and good for us.’ I’m like, ‘Good for me? They’re gonna tank the season for a damn quarterback! Find me a team that can win, and I’ll sign the damn tender.’

“People say, ‘He was trying to leave.’ That’s a lie. I didn’t ask them to trade me. I didn’t even ask them to pay me any more. I just wanted to play one last year with my teammates. But hey, it’s part of the business. It was a business move, and I got the short end of the stick at the time. Now? It looks like I got the big end of the stick.”

The Seahawks were eager to give a third-round pick and a couple of spare parts to acquire him, even though he could end up being a rental. He’s part of a defense that has recovered from a massive overhaul, and has them in contention for the NFC West title and the top seed in the NFC playoffs.