Jadeveon Clowney Contract Talks Updated by Browns GM After Free-Agent Visit, Workout

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry expressed his desire Thursday to sign free-agent pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney.

Speaking to reporters at training camp after Clowney visited with the team on Wednesday, Berry said, "Really good visit. Things that we still have to work through. Hopeful that we can add to the team, but it's still in the balance."

The 33-year-old Clowney will play his 13th NFL season in 2026 if he signs with the Browns or another team.

Originally selected first overall by the Houston Texans in the 2014 NFL draft, Clowney has essentially been a defensive gun for hire ever since his five-year tenure in Houston ended.

Clowney has played for six different teams in seven seasons since then, and the Browns are the only team with which he spent more than one season, as he played in Cleveland in 2021 and 2022.

However, Clowney's tenure with the Browns came to an abrupt end during the 2022 season, as he was sent home and made inactive for the team's season finale after making critical comments regarding the organization.

Clowney left in free agency the ensuing offseason and went on to spend 2023 with the Baltimore Ravens, 2024 with the Carolina Panthers and 2025 with the Dallas Cowboys.

Despite the tension between Clowney and the Browns when he left the organization, Berry suggested that he is ready to let bygones be bygones.

"Reconciliation is possible," Berry said. "And I don't subscribe to the notion of defining people by really their worst or best one. But in this case, a moment of weakness, he made a mistake. It's something you talk through.

"We've maintained a good relationship with JD since 2022. And I think the second thing is we had him for two years and there's certainly a lot more positives than negatives despite how it ended. So, we do feel comfortable bringing him back into the organization, if it's the right fit on both sides."

Clowney is a three-time Pro Bowler and one-time Second Team All-Pro who has recorded 66.5 sacks, 120 tackles for loss and 16 forced fumbles in 153 career regular-season games.

He posted a total of 11 sacks in his two seasons in Cleveland, and he has remained productive in the years since then.

Clowney matched his career high with 9.5 sacks as a member of the Ravens in 2023, and he finished last season with 8.5 sacks and 12 TFLs in Dallas.

The Browns could use a boost off the edge after trading superstar pass-rusher Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams this offseason.

Garrett set the single-season NFL record with 23 sacks in 2025, and although the Browns landed a promising pass-rusher in two-time Pro Bowler Jared Verse as part of the trade with L.A., it will take more than just one player to replace Garrett's production.