Insider: ‘Ship has sailed’ on Browns re-signing Pro Bowl DE

“I think that ship sailed when Clowney refused to play on anything but third down in the 23-20 loss to the Ravens on Oct. 23, and had to be talked into doing even that,” Cabot recently wrote. “Being kept at home for the season finale in Pittsburgh after venting to cleveland.com about his usage was confirmation that Clowney, a free agent in March, will be gone. The Browns will probably look for a younger edge rusher who can provide eight or nine sacks. They’ll likely find him in a trade or in free agency.”

The 30-year-old Clowney signed a one-year contract in May that included a $1.25M base salary with an $8M signing bonus and another $1.75M in incentives. He’s missed eight games over the last two seasons.

Clowney had an underwhelming 2022 in which he recorded just two sacks and 28 tackles after recording 37 tackles and nine sacks during his first year in Cleveland. 

Defensive lineman Taven Bryant (23 pressures, four sacks, 17 hurries) and Jordan Elliott (21 pressures, two sacks, 18 hurries) had nearly the same amount of pass rush production from the interior defensive line as Clowney (29 pressures, two sacks, 24 hurries) did from the edge.

The Browns could be in play for a free agent edge rusher. Top available players include Robert Quinn, Brandon Graham, Yannick Ngakoue, and Samson Ebukam.