A former No. 1 overall pick, Jadeveon Clowney had a solid, if not disappointing, career with the Texans, Seahawks, Titans and Browns. About to turn 30 on Valentine’s Day, Clowney still has many more years of NFL football ahead of him. Although it seems the Cleveland Browns will not be part of this future.
Thursday, Clowney said Marie Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealership that he was “95% certain” that he would not return to the Browns in 2023, with the remaining 5% pinned on the possibility of numerous changes being made to the organization. “There’s supposed to be a lot of changes here next year,” Clowney said. “So they might not be back – and I might.” When pushed for further clarification, Clowney said, “I just feel like I need to be around someone who believes in me and my abilities.”
Interesting. So, Clowney thinks the Browns no longer trust him. I can understand both sides in this case. Clowney has had just two sacks in 12 games — he’ll have 13 after the team’s Week 18 game against Pittsburgh — this season after recording nine sacks in 14 games in his first year with the team. . The team may be disenfranchised with their passing thrower and probably don’t want to pay him the same salary in 2023 that he earned this year. Meanwhile, Clowney still believes he has a lot to offer and wants to go to a team that will appreciate his talents. If that was as far as the disagreement went, I would totally understand.
Too bad it doesn’t end there.
What Clowney is really upset about
The root cause of Clowney’s displeasure is the way the Browns have consistently tried to give compatriot Myles Garrett the most favorable matchups. Clowney believes the team is trying to superstar Garrett, putting him in the national spotlight in order to build their brand. “You’re all trying to get somebody into the Hall of Fame when all that matters is winning,” Clowney said. “Everyone came here for a reason, and we can all make games. I know I am.”
Just to be clear, Clowney isn’t mad at Garrett himself, although he said he doubts Garrett even noticed how unhappy he was. On the contrary, he thinks the Browns are so focused on giving Garrett the best games that winning has become the second priority. It’s just stupid, though.
Flash news: football is above all about matches. It’s all about scheming so that your best players are often paired with your opponent’s worst players so that there’s a better chance of creating disruption. Is it unfair to Allen Robinson when Sean McVay puts Cooper Kupp in motion through the lineup to line him up in front of a slow linebacker, or is that just good game planning? Is it unfair to Klay Thompson when the Golden State Warriors stage a series of pick and rolls to match Steph Curry with their opponent’s big man? Oh my, how devastating it must be for all the other players on those teams to see their organization favoring improving a certain player’s stats over winning! Please.
Garrett is one of the best pass throwers in the league, and pairing him against weaker opponents would theoretically be the best chance for the pass rush to hit the quarterback. Sure, Clowney plays second fiddle, and maybe that’s boring for him after doing it in Houston behind JJ Watt for the first five years of his career. However, this does not detract from its role. Clowney’s role is to provide a formidable presence on the other side of the defensive line, preventing the offensive line from focusing entirely on Garrett and opening up more opportunities for Garrett. In turn, Garrett’s elite talent should theoretically also open up more opportunities for Clowney, even if Clowney is forced to play more frequently against tougher competition.
Where does Clowney go from here?
Could Clowney be an elite passing thrower on another team? Safe. Why not? He said he would have “easily” had double-digit sacks this year if the team didn’t constantly put Garrett in the spotlight. He also said he would make it happen next year with the team he would end up playing for. “I feel better this year than last year at this point,” he explained. That said, Clowney has never reached 10 sacks in a season. At 30, time is running out.
When asked whether or not JJ Watt would often line up against weaker offensive linemen, Clowney claimed that due to his youth and Watt’s established reputation at the time, he was not not able to choose where he lined up. “I was [21 years old] at the time,” he said. “It was good for him to decide where I would line up. He’d already been Defensive Player of the Year twice. I mean, by that logic, shouldn’t Garrett also be allowed to take his own decisions?
By the time Clowney arrived in Cleveland, Garrett was coming out of his first All-Pro season and third straight season with double-digit sacks. Sure, Garrett (26) was younger than Clowney (28), but Garrett’s reputation was rising. I mean, for heaven’s sake, Garrett scored 10 sacks in 2019 in just ten games in 2019. He could have won Defensive Player of the Year that season if not for a certain helmet incident with a rather famous reindeer. He was becoming one of, if not the best first overall pick of the 2010s. Clowney’s time to prove that he too could deserve this distinction had already come and gone by then.
Listen, I get that Clowney wants more opportunities to prove himself, but to say the Browns don’t want to win because they use the same practice as literally every team (because that gives them the best chance of winning) is downright ridiculous. That doesn’t mean Clowney’s role on the Browns was any less important. I’m sure the Browns would like him backt year, but if he’s unhappy with the team doing their best, that seems to be a Clowney problem, not a Browns problem.
And in case you were wondering what the Browns thought of Clowney’s comments: He was sent home early practice on Friday.
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