A reunion of Jadeveon Clowney and Myles Garrett was secured when Clowney and the Browns agreed to terms on Sunday. (Cleveland.com)
Browns fill last hole on defense with re-signing of Jadeveon Clowney
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Jadeveon Clowney was the last piece to the puzzle on the Browns’ defense. They finally filled it on Sunday when the defensive end agreed essentially to a one-year contract for a reported $11 million.
However they reached that figure – using base salary, bonuses, sack incentives and voidable years – is not relevant. The importance is that Clowney came to an agreement just as the offense and defense take the field together this week for the first set of OTA practices.
For the first time in three years as Browns coach, Kevin Stefanski will have his entire team together for up to 11 OTA practices over the next three weeks, followed by the mandatory minicamp June 14-16. Voluntary OTAs were canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic and offensive players boycotted them in 2021 on the advice of union president and former Browns center JC Tretter.
It was no surprise that Clowney and the Browns renewed their relationship for another year. Clowney enjoyed his healthiest season in 2021 on a one-year deal with the Browns. He earned about $1 million in incentives for a total of $9 million.
Clowney was happy at the end – two sacks v. the Bengals JVs helped him reach a $250,000 bonus – and strongly indicated he wanted to return. It was wrongly assumed Clowney would follow the highest dollar to his next team in 2022. In fact, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Clowney turned down bigger, multi-year offers to return to the Browns – although no team other than the Browns was linked to Clowney all spring.
“What I’m saying is that it is about money – not about the most – but it is [also] about being comfortable in the right place, the guys around you and all of that comes into play when you decide where to go,” Clowney said after Game 17.
With Clowney contributing nine sacks from left end, right end Myles Garrett enjoyed his finest season in 2021 with 16 sacks. Garrett actively recruited Clowney to return during the free agent process. It didn’t hurt when the Browns traded for quarterback Deshaun Watson on March 18, also. Garrett and Watson were teammates in Houston in 2017 and 2018. The Texans won the AFC South division in 2018 and lost an AFC wild card game.
Clowney’s return concludes the heavy lifting for GM Andrew Berry in assembling the 2022 team. He may seek to add veterans at wide receiver, defensive tackle and tight end, but all would be considered luxuries at this stage of the process.
Two higher priorities now for Berry are to manufacture a creative deal to move Baker Mayfield to another team and to negotiate a multi-year contract for franchise tight end David Njoku before the July 15 deadline.
Pictures tell a thousand words
Watson posted a group photo with about 20 of his Cleveland offensive teammates on his Instagram account as their weekend bonding session in the Bahamas came to an end. All are expected to join the defense as voluntary OTAs begin this week.
The group photo rekindled the image of one posted on Baker Mayfield’s Instagram account less than a year ago of him, Austin Hooper, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry. They shared a few days of bonding at the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, MT, during the Labor Day weekend in 2021.
Amazingly, that Mount Rushmore of Browns’ Super Bowl hopes has crumbled to the ground.
Hooper was cut after the second year of his four-year contract and signed a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans.
Beckham was waived on Nov. 8 after his father reposted a video detailing Mayfield’s inability or unwillingness to throw the ball to Beckham in four key games. He signed with the Rams and earned a Super Bowl championship ring despite suffering another ACL injury during that game. Beckham is still unsigned for 2022.
Landry was released on March 14 after suffering the worst year in his eight NFL seasons. He signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Saints on May 13.
And Mayfield is still in limbo, a quarterback without a team.
Court of opinion back in session
Several women accusing Watson of sexual misconduct during massage sessions will sit down for their first national television interview on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. The program first airs Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.
Watson attorney Rusty Hardin has told media outlets, including Cleveland.com, that he is “not optimistic” the program will be a fair representation of the 22 civil lawsuits against Watson.
NFL investigators interviewed Watson for three days in Houston last week. Hardin told the media outlets that he expects the NFL to interview Watson again before the league rules on whether Watson violated the league’s personal conduct policy. A decision on an NFL suspension of Watson could come in June or July, Hardin said.
