Browns vs Steelers: 3 storylines in Week 18

No.2: How will defense play with the Jadeveon Clowney fiasco?

Browns defensive end Jadeveon Clowney decided to let loose this week to local sports media and shared his displeasure with how things have gone this year. He called out his coaches and various players, and how he felt he was being perceived and not utilized as a veteran.

Because of this outburst, the Browns decided to send Clowney home and will not have him play in this finale — meaning his time in Cleveland has come to an abrupt end.  Last season, he speculated about coming back as he was on a one-year deal as a free agent. He eventually made the decision to come back to Cleveland, but this season has been far more disappointing than that of a year ago.

In 2021, Clowney had a resurgence in his career with nine sacks. You pair that up with Myles Garrett‘s 16 sacks from a year ago and one thought you had two bookends to a very strong defensive line.

That potential, however, hasn’t worked out this year as Clowney has only produced two sacks and hasn’t played as much. Clowney made a lot of speculations in his comments about who would be here and who would not, as far as coaches and players. He said he thought that there was a 95 percent chance that he would not be in Cleveland next year.

I’ll go ahead and say that there’s a 100 percent chance that he won’t be here.

Clowney will be 30 years old in a few weeks and may have a difficult time finding a new team that will give him a lot more playing time that he’s already gotten here in Cleveland.