For much of the preseason, rumors were rampant that the Seahawks could end up trading for three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. But just because that’s when the public became aware of a possible deal between Seattle and the Houston Texans doesn’t mean it was the first time the Seahawks had shown interest.

Best-case, worst-case and middle-case scenarios of Clowney trade

Seahawks general manager John Schneider told 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny O’Neil and Lydia Cruz on Tuesday morning that he had been discussing Clowney with the Texans since the spring.

“Timeline was actually before the draft,” Schneider said. “We had talked to them a little bit. (I) have a real good relationship with (Texans coach) Bill O’Brien (and) Brian Gaine, their former general manager who’s in Buffalo right now. And we had stayed in touch on it and then it went away.”

Schneider said the Seahawks turned to other pieces of business they needed to take care of, including long-term extensions for quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner. But with Clowney on a franchise tag and eager to go to a contender, Seattle jumped back into the conversation in the last month.

“We were working on Russ and working on Bobby and trying to figure out how we were going to budget ourselves,” Schneider said. “We just stayed in and I stayed in contact with Bill, and when things sounded like they were kind of heating up a little bit, I got back in it.”

Schneider is no doubt excited about what Clowney’s presence will do for the Seahawks, and he hopes Clowney will feel more comfortable both in Seattle’s defense and in front of a different fan base than the one that expected so much out of the former No. 1 overall draft pick.

“He can do whatever he wants whenever he wants to do it. He’s that type of player,” Schneider said of Clowney. “He’s just a freaky athlete. And there’s a lot of pressure that comes with that when these guys are drafted with the first pick overall. … It’s a great thing for them, but it’s not their fault. So there’s a ton of scrutiny put on these guys. And this is a player that went down to Houston and played in a 3-4 (defense). Because he’s so talented everybody just expects it – you can play outside linebacker and move around and do all that stuff. And that’s great, he can do that. But when he had his hand on the ground in a 4-3, he was just coming up the field all the time and just being super explosive.”

You can listen to Schneider’s full interview here.

O’Neil: If Seahawks were the Titanic, why is Clowney so happy?