Pass on Clowney

So the Browns are playing footsie with Jadeveon Clowney.

An unsolicited piece of advice:

STOP!! General Manager Andrew Berry is wasting his time. Clowney is not the football player he thinks he is.

The defensive end/outside linebacker burst onto the National Football League scene in spectacular fashion as the league's No. 1 college draft choice in 2014 and proceeded to become the poster boy for mediocrity.

And the Browns want to add his overrated and (until now) overcompensated talents to their roster? Don't they have enough mediocrity on the edge already with the signing of Takkarist McKinley?

What is Clowney going to give them? Based on his history, underachieving and injuries. He has played in 83 out of a possible 112 games in his seven-year career. And he has played in all 16 games just once.

He is best known for only two things: Arguably the most devastating tackle in the history of college football and . . . getting hurt. He is a leading candidate to be the most fragile big man (6-5, 260 pounds) in football history. OK, I exaggerate, but you get the picture.

Clowney is primarily known for his tackle of University of Michigan running back Austin Smith in the 2013 Outback Bowl. T-boned him a fraction of a second after taking a handoff. Caused a fumble and recovered it.

Great play. Memorable play. A play for the ages.

In his seven NFL seasons, though, Clowney has only 32 sacks and just 86 quarterback hits. Myles Garrett, on the other hand, has 42.5 sacks and 83 quarterback hits for the Browns in three and a half seasons (51 games).

It is being suggested in some media circles that Clowney will be the missing piece if his agent and Berry can agree on a contract. He has had three stops around the league -- Houston, Seattle and Tennessee and has yet to live up to his advance billing.

The stats do not lie. Jadeveon Clowney is nothing more than average.. He is not a premiere pass rusher. He never was. And he is not a difference maker. His greatest strength lies in stopping the run. 

If Berry concludes Clowney is that missing piece -- he apparently did a year ago when he offered the free agent more money than anyone else only to see him accept less in Tennessee -- and makes a significant offer, he is making a mistake.

But if he offers Clowney prove-it money, a cheap, incentive-laden contract, that changes the landscape. That would be worth it. But it would take a lot of convincing.

Only one problem. Clowney believes he is worth a lot more. If the numbers are not there from Berry, he moves on. And that would be the best move for the Browns.