Browns ‘Strongly Considering’ Signing Jadeveon Clowney

Despite enjoying a strong year with the Cowboys in 2025, Clowney has gone without a deal since free agency opened in March. The 12-year veteran has typically held off on signing into the summer, though, and it will be no different in 2026. With at least four teams showing interest, the 33-year-old could sign his next contract sometime soon.

The Texans chose Clowney first overall in the 2014 draft, though he is now a veteran of seven NFL franchises. Clowney has made three Pro Bowls (all during his 2014-18 run in Houston) and amassed 66.5 sacks. He spent 2021-22 in Cleveland, where he signed back-to-back one-year contracts. Clowney totaled nine sacks in his first year with the Browns, but the total dropped to two in his second season. Frustrated with how the Browns were using him, Clowney took shots at them and then-teammate Myles Garrett late in 2022. Clowney implied Garrett was benefiting from easier matchups.

“You’re all trying to get somebody into the Hall of Fame when all that matters is winning,” Clowney said (via Cabot). “Everybody got here for a reason, and we can all make plays. I know I am.”

Clowney later apologized to Garrett, who is no longer a member of the franchise. The Browns traded Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, to the Rams in June. They acquired fellow edge defender Jared Verse in the swap. Verse will take Garrett’s spot as the Browns’ No. 1 defensive end. Alex Wright and Isaiah McGuire are also in the fold, though Clowney was more productive than those two last season.

Although Clowney did not sign with the Cowboys until last September, he became one of the few bright spots on a bottom-of-the-barrel defense. In 13 games and 373 defensive snaps, Clowney put up 41 tackles, 12 TFL, a team-leading 8.5 sacks and four passes defensed. He finished 20th in the league in sacks despite playing a shortened season, and Pro Football Focus rated him the league’s 16th-best edge defender out of 119 qualifiers.

Also a former Raven, Clowney crossed paths with first-year Browns head coach Todd Monken three years ago. Monken was the Ravens’ offensive coordinator in 2023, when Clowney tied a career high with 9.5 sacks. Now, if Clowney rejoins the Browns, he will play for Monken and new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg in 2026.