BROWNS FINALLY LAND DE CLOWNEY
As he considered his next stop in the NFL, Jadeveon Clowney said there was something about the Browns that made them very appealing.
“They’re winning,” he said.
They are now, and Clowney wants to help them win it all.
The dynamic free agent defensive end signed a oneyear, $10 million contract with Cleveland on Wednesday, joining All-Pro end Myles Garrett on the defensive line of a rising team looking to go even deeper in the playoffs in the 2021 season.
Clowney turned down a multiyear offer from the Browns last year (he said his former agent didn’t want him to visit them), opting instead to sign for one season with Tennessee.
Things didn’t go as he hoped with the Titans as Clowney was slowed by a knee injury that stopped him after eight games.
He’s healthy following surgery, motivated and intent on showing he can still affect a game.
“I can still dominate this league,“the 28-year-old Clowney said. “I know that.”
The Browns will line up Clowney on the opposite side of their line from Garrett, another former No. 1 overall pick who has grown into one of the league’s best defensive players and is a threat to get a sack on every snap.
And while much has been made of Clowney’s addition making Garrett better, the 28-year-old said the opposite is also true.
“I have been getting double-teamed an awful lot in this league and in my career,” Clowney said, breaking into a wide smile. “I’m looking forward to playing with somebody who is dominant on the opposite side like a Myles Garrett, who can draw a double team.
“Maybe I can go one on one more.”
The No. 1 overall pick in 2014, Clowney hasn’t always played up to his reputation, and his stats haven’t been impressive the past few seasons — three sacks combined in 2019, 2020 — because of injuries. But Browns General Manager Andrew Berry has been intrigued by him for two years, and Clowney appreciated the team’s dogged pursuit.
“He was relentless getting after me and trying to get me up here, and I am going to be relentless on that field for him,” Clowney said of Berry. “He knows I can play. He told me he likes my style of play. I said I am going to bring that here.”
To some critics, Clowney has never reached his potential. He underwent microfracture knee surgery — “probably the worst thing you could have in this game” — and although he’s been to three Pro Bowls, there are those who want to see more. Clowney’s one of them. “If I ever reach my max potential or get back there like I feel now, they say the sky is the limit, but it is probably higher than that,” he said. “They have footprints on the moon, though. That is where we are trying to reach. I just want to stay healthy. If I play 16 games, I think we will be ready to see. Just let me work on that.”
Berry spent this offseason upgrading Cleveland’s defense, with Clowney, a three-time Pro Bowler, his signature move. The addition may impact Berry’s plans in the upcoming draft; Cleveland’s biggest need had been an edge rusher to complement Garrett.