Move on from Clowney

If the Browns capitulate and shell out the kind of cash that’s being bandied about to sign free agent Jadeveon Clowney, they will be making a huge mistake.

As it stands right now, they will be bidding against themselves because reports indicate they are the only serious entrants in the Clowney sweepstakes.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the defensive end/outside linebacker turned down the latest Browns offer. No numbers were mentioned, but is it known he seeks in the neighborhood of $17 million after initially valuing himself at $20 million a season.

“I think (the Browns) have been the most aggressive team with him financially,” Schefter said on Cleveland radio. “And I think he has balked at going to Cleveland for whatever reason.”

Let me take a stab at that reason. Could it be because he doesn’t want to play for a National Football League franchise that has had a two-decade history of embarrassingly awful football? Quite probably.

“I think he has been hesitant to go,” said Schefter, “because if he wasn’t, he would have gone already because it’s the most money (he has been offered). It’s the richest offer on the table and he hasn’t taken it. So why is that? I don’t know.

“Is that not wanting to be in that city?” Getting warmer. “Is that a lack of belief in the organization?” Ding, ding ding.

There’s no doubt the Browns have foolishly offered the most money to date. Guessing it’s somewhere in the $14-$15 million range, a preposterously ridiculous number for a spectacularly very average defensive lineman.

Other teams believed to be in the sweepstakes are Tennessee and Seattle, for whom Clowney played last season. He joined the Seahawks after being obtained in a trade with Houston, with whom he spent his first five seasons.

There is no question Clowney is overvaluing himself. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 college draft has not come even close to playing like many believed he would after a nice career at South Carolina.

If it weren’t for one memorable play he made in the 2013 Outcast Bowl against Michigan, there is no telling where he would have been drafted. Most likely not first He built his reputation on that one play and is now seeking to get rich off it.

Most fans remember the lick he put on Michigan running back Vincent Smith in the latter stages of the game. It’s a tackle considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, in college football history.

Clowney and the football arrived in Smith’s midsection simultaneously, the big defensive end spearing him, dropping him in his tracks and sending Smith’s helmet flying backward about five yards. Smith lost the ball after the genuinely remarkable hit and Clowney recovered it.

By today’s standards, however, it would have been flagged because Clowney initially made contact with the crown of his helmet. Can’t do that today without drawing yellow. Concussions back then were not taken as seriously as they are today.

That one play also climaxed a mediocre junior season for Clowney, who registered only three sacks after posting 21 in his first two seasons for the Gamecocks.

He continued his lack of production with the Texans in his first five NFL seasons, registering only 32 sacks (a paltry three with Seattle last season) in 75 games. By contrast, Myles Garrett of the Browns has dropped opposing quarterbacks 30 times in just 37 games.

Had he not bopped Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph and been suspended for the final six games of the 2019 seasons, Garrett would have easily passed Clowney in half the time. And with a new contract looming on the financial horizon, you can bet he will be watching the Clowney situation with more than just casual interest.

The Browns, it would appear, believe Clowney is a very good edge rusher. No he’s not. He’s much better against the run than attempting to harass opposing quarterbacks. Run stoppers don’t get paid like quality quarterback hunters.

The bottom line probably will end something like this: Clowney will take less money and re-up with the Seahawks, who are in much better position to reach the postseason yet again than the Browns, who haven’t been in the playoffs since 2002.

But that’s okay. It’s far better than the Browns making a big mistake and once again overpaying for a player who is nowhere near worth it.

Like Cleveland General Manager Andrew Berry said recently about Clowney: “He’s a good player.” Good is not rewarded with the kind of money Clowney seeks. Great is. And using great and Jadeveon Clowney in the same sentence is oxymoronic.