As the Cleveland Browns kicked off Day 1 of training camp last week, they had an intriguing visitor in the building.
The team brought in veteran pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney, a familiar face who spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons in Cleveland, for a workout on Wednesday, July 29. A day later, general manager Andrew Berry told reporters that the team was hopeful to find common ground on a deal after Clowney's first stint with the team ended on a sour note.
“Really good visit, things we still have to work through,” Berry said on July 30. “Hopeful that we can add him to the team, but it’s still in the balance.”
But as NFL insider Aaron Wilson reported, Clowney’s market grew behind the scenes, with the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks also showing interest. Those two teams can boast something the Browns can’t — veteran-laden rosters fresh off recent playoff berths; the Seahawks are entering 2026 as the reigning Super Bowl champions.
In the end, Clowney chose Houston, the team that drafted him No. 1 overall during the 2014 NFL Draft. He’s signing a one-year deal with a max value of $8 million, and his reasoning to Wilson in a phone interview reinforces why the Browns are better off sticking with their youth movement.
"It was a family decision,” Clowney said. “It wasn't about the money. It was about chasing my legacy and chasing a Super Bowl. I've got a lot of game left and want to contribute.”
The Cleveland Browns should be done chasing aging veterans in 2026
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam created some buzz entering training camp when he told reporters to “take the over” on the team’s win-loss projections. While clearly entering a rebuilding year following the Myles Garrett trade on June 1, the Browns are betting on their wealth of young talent coming together and generating some positive momentum by season’s end.
“We want to be a contending playoff team in ’27,” Haslam said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t make it in ’26.”
That’s a fine message for Browns leadership to deliver to their long-suffering fan base, and it coincides with recent extensions for veteran defenders Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit.
But Cleveland might field the NFL’s youngest roster in 2026, and its overhauled offense clearly has a long way to go after one week of training camp.
Adding a 33-year-old veteran like Clowney at this point in the offseason doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Browns. Clowney’s looking for an opportunity to contribute and contend for a playoff berth, rather than cashing checks in more of a mentor role. Cleveland could use more depth on the edge, but allocating reps to Clowney over players like Isaiah McGuire, Logan Fano, and other younger prospects doesn't feel like the best path forward.
The Browns appear to be fighting back against the narrative that they’re punting on this 2026 season. That’s a losing battle, though, when you trade away the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year for a third-year pro in Jared Verse and three draft picks.
It’s certainly possible that the Browns surprise some people this year and exceed their current low expectations. But they’re definitely not ready to contend for AFC playoff wins against a team like the Texans, who have an established program and played in the divisional round last year.
The Browns are closer to square one in Todd Monken's first year as head coach. And while the Clowney visit made for an intriguing storyline last week, renting an aging pass rusher for one year was never really going to move the needle for this team.
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