Jadeveon Clowney apologizes to Myles Garrett for 'out of context' comments
Jadeveon Clowney issued a public apology to Cleveland Browns teammate Myles Garrett for recent comments that he says were taken out of context.
Clowney did not play in the Browns' Week 18 season finale loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers after being sent home from practice for saying he was 95 percent certain he would not return to the team next season. He also made some rather explosive comments about the treatment Garrett gets in Cleveland — specifically that the coaching staff sets him up for more favorable matchups to try and get him into the Hall of Fame at the expense of winning games.
Those comments were not well-received by Garrett.
On Friday, Clowney issued an apology.
Clowney's initial comments were pretty wild and the type of thing you would expect to hear coming out of a locker room of a team that has been a bitter disappointment the past two years. In 2020 the Browns looked like a team on the rise that would compete for Super Bowl spots in the AFC with a young, talented roster that was largely led by Garrett.
However, with the regression (and departure) of quarterback Baker Mayfield and a talented offense that never panned out, the Browns completely fell off the map with back-to-back losing seasons.
On paper the Garrett-Clowney duo should have been the focal point of a great defense and pass rush, but like everything else in Cleveland, it just did not reach its potential. In two years with the Browns, Clowney recorded 11 sacks but only two of them during the 2022 season.
Garrett probably does get some more favorable matchups because he is, after all, the better player, and putting him into mismatch situations can further allow him to cause havoc and increase the Browns' chances of winning. It's still an eye-opening comment to hear from a teammate and difficult to see how it could be taken out of context.
Clowney has had a fascinating career. He entered the league as a much-hyped No. 1 overall pick but has bounced around between Houston, Seattle, Tennessee, Cleveland and now presumably a fifth team this offseason all before his age 30 season. He has not been a bad player by any means but not quite the franchise-changing game-wrecker he was supposed to be.
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