Getty Images Jadeveon Clowney of the Cleveland Browns.
Jadeveon Clowney does not expect to be back with the Cleveland Browns next season and fired some shots on his way out the door.
Clowney didn’t hold back in an interview with Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, saying that he expects Sunday’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers to be his final time donning a Browns uniform.
“[I’m] 95% sure I won’t be back,” Clowney told Cleveland.com. “But there’s still that 5%. You never know what can happen.”
He continued, saying that the Browns “got their own guys, and I ain’t one of them, so it’s time for me to get my exit slip.” The 30-year-old pass rusher’s frustrations have stemmed from him feeling the team hasn’t put him in the best positions to excel.
“I just feel like I need to be around somebody that believes in me and my ability,” Clowney said. “(It can’t) just be me believing in myself. I believe in myself more than anybody.”
Clowney: ‘It’s BS And I Don’t Have Time For It’
Clowney has missed four games this season with an ankle injury and concussion. He has just two sacks this season, although his presence has been felt in other parts of the game when he’s in the lineup. But there appears to be significant tension from Clowney about how the team handles his pass-rush partner Myles Garrett.
Garrett has 15 sacks this season and has been very open about his desire to come away with the sack title. Clowney expressed a belief that he feels it’s taken away from the focus of winning games.
“You’re all trying to get somebody into the Hall of Fame when all that matters is winning,” Clowney said. “Everybody got here for a reason, and we can all make plays. I know I am.”
Clowney is clearly upset about the situation and what he views as preferential treatment. However, he doesn’t hold a grudge against Garrett, who lobbied for the Browns to bring back Clowney this offseason on a one-year deal worth $10 million.
“I don’t even think (Garrett) notices,” Clowney said. “I ain’t trying to say it’s him. I try to get along with everybody I play with. Me and him don’t have a problem. It ain’t his fault. It’s just B.S., and I don’t have time for it.”
While Clowney appears well on the way out in Cleveland, the former No. 1 overall pick mentioned that staying in the AFC North could be an option.
“I’ll be ready next year to get (after it again),” he said. “I could still end up in the division next year.”
Changes Could be Coming to Browns Defense
Beyond Clowney, some significant changes could be coming to the Browns next season, starting at the top with defensive coordinator Joe Woods. He was under fire for most of the year with the Browns underperforming but the unit has caught fire down the stretch, as they did last season.
Woods is still uncertain if he will return next year but feels that the unit has momentum that could carry into next season.
“I know things haven’t gone the way we would like them to go this year. But I feel like the first season going to the playoffs and winning a game for the first time in 26 years or something like that; the next year, we didn’t win a lot of games and that is what it is all about, but we did improve defensively to No. 5; and again, through the end of the season, I think we are playing better,” Woods told reporters on January 5. “I feel like the guys we have on our team — because we have a young team — they are all coming back next year and we will have a full offseason. Long story short, I hope I get the opportunity, but that is not my decision.”
As Woods walked off the podium on Thursday, he told the media: “Hopefully I get to talk to you guys again…” He’ll have at least one more chance to lead the defense on Sunday against the Steelers.