For the relatively small amount of money he was paid vs. the massive production he delivered, there might be a question as to why the Dallas Cowboys didn’t try harder to bring back edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney.
The 2014 No. 1 overall pick visited with the Cleveland Browns on the 1st full day of training camp on Wednesday as he looks for a new home.
Clowney led the Cowboys with 8.5 sacks in 2025 while playing in just 13 games and on the field for just 31.4 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.
“Myles Garrett was the catalyst for Jadeveon Clowney’s messy divorce from the Browns in 2023, and Garrett’s departure last month opened the door for Clowney’s possible return,” Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot wrote on Wednesday. “The Browns on Wednesday hosted Clowney on the first day of training camp, and will re-sign him if the two sides reach an agreement.”
Clowney played 1 season for the Ravens in 2023, and played 2 seasons for the Browns in 2021 and 2022. Current Browns head coach Todd Monken was the offensive coordinator during Clowney’s 1 season in Baltimore.
Clowney Firmly in Mercenary Stage of Career
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox doesn’t think Clowney will be unemployed for much longer after he played for the Cowboys on a 1-year, $3.45 million contract in 2025 and led them in sacks while playing just 31.4 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.
That’s a lot of production for not a lot of money, in NFL terms.
Knox called the 2 teams that played in the Super Bowl in February — the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks — the 2 most logical landing spots for Clowney.
“For any teams looking to add a defensive mercenary just before training camp, Jadeveon Clowney is the perfect target,” Knox wrote on July 19. “While Clowney never became the franchise centerpiece the Houston Texans hoped they were getting when they drafted him first overall back in 2014. However, he’s been a very productive player throughout his career, often during short-term stints. This past season, for example, Clowney joined the Dallas Cowboys for 13 games and finished with 12 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, and 22 quarterback pressures. He isn’t just a situational edge-rusher, either, and remains a very disruptive force against the run … Clowney would help just about any defense looking to bolster its front, though he might have the most impact by landing with one of the many franchises that can offer a preexisting coaching connection.”
Jadeveon Clowney ‘Open’ to Reuniting With Ravens
The Ravens already signed 1 elite edge rusher this offseason with NFL All-Pro Trey Hendrickson on a 4-year, $112 million free-agent contract.
Clowney might be the perfect complementary player to Hendrickson and 2nd-year edge rusher Mike Green after playing 1 season for the Ravens in 2023 — something he seems open to.
“(The Ravens) take pride in their defense,” Clowney told NFL reporter Aaron Wilson in April. “I enjoyed the locker room. The guys that was in the locker room was an extremely fun group of guys. A lot of leaders was on that team, a lot of guys that respect the game of football. They got a lot of good guys that I can relate to in that locker room. I’ll definitely be open to going back to Baltimore, playing with Lamar Jackson now. It was a great time for me.”
Clowney, 33 years old, had a career-high 9.5 sacks playing for the Ravens in 2023 under former defensive coordinator and current Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald.
Cowboys Sacks Leader Jadeveon Clowney Close to AFC Return