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Report: Browns Have Highest Offer For Jadeveon Clowney
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Jadeveon Clowney has been uninterested in the Cleveland Browns to this point in the offseason, reportedly balking at a lucrative offer from the team despite a slow market as one of the top remaining free agents. The Browns apparently mean it when they say, behind the scenes, that they haven’t given up on landing the former Pro Bowler, however. According to MMQB’s Albert Breer, the team is willing to pay Clowney in the range of $15 million on a one-year deal.
“Jadeveon Clowney’s situation continues to be complicated,” Breer wrote Monday. “And I think it’s of note that the Browns are willing to pay a good rate … to get him, and he remains unsigned. That tells me a couple things. One, that Clowney’s financial desires are still a barrier to getting a deal done. And two, that those desires may come on a sliding scale, based on destination.”
The former Houston Texans standout, who spent 2019 with the Seattle Seahawks, reportedly opened the offseason seeking at least $20M per year, but quickly dropped his asking price by a few million annually. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported in May that the Browns were behind the “richest offer on the table” for Clowney, but that the former No. 1 overall pick had yet to bite. Clowney has reportedly also turned down offers from the Seahawks and Tennessee Titans, who’ve been tied to the pass rusher all offseason.
“Clowney, talented as he is, doesn’t come without strings attached,” Breer added. “There have been questions about how dedicated he’s been to the mental side of the game, which contributed to how he fell out of favor in Houston, and that’s reflected on tape that still shows a guy relying on his physical ability above all else.”
Even so, Breer said, plenty of scouts still see the veteran as a plug-and-play starter, with the Seahawks and Browns both offering scheme familiarity for the 2020 season. Now, as has been the case for months, it’s just a matter of how much — or how little — money Clowney is willing to take to finalize his home.
