Diving into Cleveland Browns desire to land Jadeveon Clowney

For the second season in a row, the Cleveland Browns are trying to land Jadeveon Clowney which has some asking why the team is ‘obsessed’ with him

It feels like déjà vu with the Cleveland Browns. Just like they did for much of the 2020 offseason, the Browns are again showing plenty of interest in adding Jadeveon Clowney to their defenisve line.

A former No. 1 overall pick, Clowney is looking to join his third team in as many years and once again, Cleveland appears to be pulling out all the stops in an effort to lure him to Berea. But some fans are wondering what the deal is.

In fact, one even asked Mary Kay Cabot why the team is “obsessed” with signing Clowney — and pointed to his long history of injuries and the production not meeting his talent level. Mary Kay responded, saying why she believes Cleveland is intrigued by the possible signing.

"“I think ‘obsessed’ is too strong a word. I think the Browns would like to sign him if he’s healthy and if the price is right. If he’s fully recovered from his surgically-repaired torn meniscus, he can be a force off the edge for the Browns, both in terms of disrupting the quarterback and stopping the run.” — Cabot, Cleveland.com"

This reader wasn’t alone in questioning the desire of the team to sign Clowney. DPD’s own Matt McFatridge says that the team should be looking elsewhere — citing Clowney’s inability to stay healthy as the No. 1 reason. He also challenged the belief that Clowney would thrive opposite Myles Garrett since he wasn’t able to do so in Houston while playing with J.J. Watt (a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year) in the prime of his career.

While he brings up some good points, Mary Kay does as well. Clowney might not have the sack production that we like to see but he’s a disruptive player and would make the Cleveland defensive line better — if he were healthy.

That’s again where the biggest question lies. Clowney has constantly missed time including a playoff appearance with the Houston Texans and he was also on IR for the second half of 2020, missing the Titans playoff run.

Another major question is why no one is in a hurry to keep him. The Houston Texans — who took him No. 1 overall in 2014 — traded him to the Seattle Seahawks for the final year of his deal. Seattle then didn’t push hard to re-sign him and he wound up in Tennessee. After playing just eight games, he now seems to be an afterthought with the Titans.

So, there’s clearly talent there but something isn’t adding up. Maybe it’s just the injuries, but maybe it’s more.

While we don’t know the exact answer there, we do know that the Browns remain interested but are still trying to land him on their terms, rather than breaking out the long-term deal Clowney is seeking.