Jadeveon Clowney, a former No. 1 overall pick, has had a decent career with five different teams. Clowney is set to turn 30 on February 14th and has several years of football left in front of him. The Cleveland Browns won't be in that future.
Clowney told Mary Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Thursday that he was 95 percent sure that he wouldn't return to the team in 2023. Clowney said there would be a lot of changes next year. They may not be back. Clowney said that he needed to be around someone that believed in him.
It's interesting. Clowney doesn't think the Browns have faith in him anymore. I can empathise with both sides. During his first year with the team, Clowney recorded nine sacks in 14 games, but this year he has just two sacks in 12 games. The team may not want to pay him the same salary in 2023 as they did this year because they don't want to be seen as discriminating. Clowney wants to go to a team that will appreciate his talent. I would completely understand if that was the end of the disagreement.
That is not the end of it.
The root cause of Clowney's unhappiness is the fact that the Browns have tried to give another pass-rusher the most favorable match-ups. Clowney thinks the team is trying to make a star out of Garrett in order to build their brand. Clowney said that all that matters is winning. Everyone has a reason to be here, and we can all make plays. I'm aware that I am.
Clowney isn't upset with the man, but he does think that he has been unhappy. He believes that winning has become the top priority for the Cleveland team. That is just stupid.
Football is all about who gets the better of the other team. There is a better chance of disrupting the game if your best players are often grouped up against your worst players. Is it unfair for Sean McVay to put Cooper Kupp in motion across the formation in order to get him lined up across from a slow linebacker, or is that just good game planning? Is it unfair to Klay Thompson when the Golden State Warriors run a series of pick and rolls in order to get Stephen Curry matched up with someone else? It must be terrible for the other players on those teams to see their organization favor a certain player over the other players. It's important that you please.
Clowney has been playing second fiddle in Houston behind Watt for the first five years of his career, and that may be making him annoyed. His role isn't diminished by that. Clowney's role is to provide a fearsome presence on the other side of the defensive line, preventing the offensive line from shifting their focus to the other side of the defensive line. Even if Clowney is forced to play across from tougher competition more frequently, his elite talent should allow for more opportunities for him.
Clowney could be an elite defensive player. It's definitely true. Why wouldn't you? He said he would have had double-digit sacks if the team didn't put him in the spotlight so much. He said he would get there with whichever team he ends up playing for. He said that he feels better this year than he did last year. Clowney has never been able to get 10 sacks in a season. The clock is thirty years old
Clowney said he wasn't in a position to choose where he lined up because of his youth and Watt's reputation. He said he was 21 at the time. It was fine for him to make that decision. He was a two-time defensive player of the year. By that logic, shouldn't he have the right to make his own decisions?
When Clowney arrived in Cleveland, he was coming off his first All- Pro season, and third consecutive season with double-digit sacks. Even though Clowney was older, his reputation was elevating. In just ten games in the year, he recorded 10 sacks. If it wasn't for a helmet incident with a reindeer, he would have won the defensive player of the year. He was one of the better picks of the 2010s. By that time, Clowney had already earned that distinction.
I understand that Clowney wants more of a chance to prove himself, but I don't think it's right to say that the Browns don't want to win because they use the same practice as every other team. Clowney was an important part of the team. If he's unhappy with the team putting their best foot forward, that seems like a Clowney problem, not a problem with the Indians.
Clowney was sent home from practice on Friday because the team didn't like what he said.
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