Browns sign Clayborn for depth on defensive line

The Browns learned a hard lesson last season about needing quality depth on the defensive line, and March 31 they bought some insurance by signing veteran end Adrian Clayborn.

Clayborn, 31, has played in 110 games with 52 starts over nine seasons with three different teams. He has 36.5 career sacks.

Browns starting end Myles Garrett was suspended indefinitely Nov. 15 and missed the last six games of 2019. Fellow end Olivier Vernon missed six of the last seven games with a knee injury. The double whammy was a blow to the defense.

Clayborn was a firstround pick by Tampa Bay in 2011.

He played four seasons with the Buccaneers, three with Atlanta and one season with the Patriots before re-signing with the Falcons last season.

Clayborn, 6-foot-3, 280 pounds, has been mostly a backup each of the last six seasons. He played in 16 games with two starts in 2017 with the Falcons and totaled 29 games and two starts the last two seasons. Still, he played 42% of the defensive snaps the Falcons faced in 2019 and graded out as a top-40 pass rusher, according to Pro Football Focus.

Garrett and Vernon were the starting defensive ends Sept. 29 when the Browns played their best game of the season by beating the Ravens, 40-25, in Baltimore. Though Garrett had no sacks and Vernon just one, the Browns sacked Lamar Jackson four times in that game.

Garrett was banished and Vernon was inactive because of his knee injury when the teams met again Dec. 22 in Cleveland. Chad Thomas and Bryan Cox Jr. started at end.

The Browns had no sacks and lost, 31-15.

Thomas is under contract through 2021. Cox is a free agent. Clayborn’s deal with the Browns is for two years and $6 million, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Garrett is back from his suspension. Vernon is under contract for $15.25 million in 2020.

General Manager Andrew Berry added depth at defensive tackle earlier in March when he signed Andrew Billings to a one-year, $3.5 million contract. Billings played three years with the Bengals before signing with the Browns.

NAM Y. HUH - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Patriots defensive end Adrian Clayborn sacks Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky during a 2018game in Chicago. Clayborn has signed a two-year contract with the Browns.