Getty Jadevon Clowney
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Eric Ebron isn’t too excited about seeing new Cleveland Browns defensive end Jadeveon Clowney twice per season.
Ebron reacted to the big signing by the Browns on social media on Wednesday, noting his disdain for seeing Clowney more often.
“I have been playing Clowney since high school,” Ebron wrote. “Safe to say I’m tired of his ahh.”
I have been playing Clowney since high school 🙄 safe to say i’m tired of his ahh 😂
Clowney went to high school at South Pointe in South Carolina, while Ebron attended school in both Rhode Island and in North Carolina. The two squared off in college in the “Battle for the Carolinas” rivalry matchup in 2013, with Clowney’s Gamecocks taking the 27-10 victory.
Both went in the first round of the 2014 draft — Clowney No. 1 overall to the Texans and Ebron with the No. 10 pick to the Detroit Lions. Now, both are in the AFC North and there are more battles on tap for the duo.
Ebron Talked Smack to Browns Last Season
GettyEric Ebron waives after a 2020 Steelers game.
Last season was filled with trash talk between the Browns and Steelers, with their AFC North rivalry hitting new heights. Ebron inserted himself into the back and forth, responding to a LeBron James tweet that backed the Browns.
“8-3! Keep going!” James wrote, tagging the Browns. Ebron responded, writing: “Where they going bro?”
Of course, the tide turned for the Steelers after they started the season 11-0. Pittsburgh finished the season losing five of their last six games, which included a 48-37 loss to Cleveland in the Wild Card round.
The Browns had lots of motivation for the postseason matchup thanks to some bulletin board material from Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
“I think they’re still the same Browns teams I play every year,” Smith-Schuster said prior to the game. “I think they’re nameless gray faces. They have a couple good players on their team, but at the end of the day, I don’t know. The Browns is the Browns.”
Obviously, the Browns were not the same ol’ Browns, ending the Steelers’ season. Pittsburgh rookie Chase Claypool called the Browns — who ruthlessly trolled Smith-Schuster after the game — “super classless.”
“They were just super classless, you know against JuJu, towards JuJu what they were saying on the field towards the end of the game, so I’m not going to have respect for a team that doesn’t have respect for us.”
Clowney Says he ‘Likes’ the AFC North
The Browns swung and missed on Clowney last offseason, watching him instead sign a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans.
However, the Browns are on the upswing and Clowney said that — combined with a new agent — pushed him to sign with Cleveland this time around.
“They are winning. They have a great team. They are definitely a winning team. They won 12 games last year, right? More than what the team I played for won last year,” Clowney told reporters on Wednesday. “I like this division for one. I think it is great competition. I get to play with great players beside me. That was one of my other decisions.”
Clowney’s contract with the Browns has a base value of $8 million but could be worth as much as $10 million with incentives, per multiple sources.
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