Jadeveon Clowney Remains Unapologetically Selfish

Cleveland Browns Jadeveon Clowney in an all too familiar move is blaming his current team for his own failures.

With only days before the Cleveland Browns regular season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney took time out from his subpar season to pout about his numbers and usage with Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.

Clowney is upset with the Browns coaching staff for not believing in him enough. 

“I just feel like I need to be around somebody that believes in me and my ability,” Clowney, who will turn 30 on Feb. 14 said. “(It can’t) just be me believing in myself. I believe in myself more than anybody.”

These complaints never surfaced when Clowney had nine sacks, 11 tackles for loss and 32 pressures in 2021. He was excited to come back to the Browns, especially when they made the trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Somewhere along the way in the 2022 season, the Browns stopped believing in Clowney. It may have coincided with Clowney only producing two sacks, four tackles for loss and 11 pressures in 12 games. Who's to say?

“Let’s say it. Let’s be honest,” he said. “(It seems to me) they don’t want me to outplay nobody.”

Rest assured, the Browns were desperately hoping they'd get more pass rush productivity from Clowney than the combination of Chase Winovich and rookie Isaiah Thomas, who have played a fraction of the snaps Clowney has this season.

If that wasn't bad enough, Clowney decided to self immolate by elaborating on why he feels the Browns don't believe in him.

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

This is in reference to Myles Garrett. Clowney is upset with the Browns coaching staff for coming up with ways to maximize the best pass rusher on the planet.

“I ain’t trying to say it’s him. I try to get along with everybody I play with. Me and him don’t have a problem. It ain’t his fault. It’s just B.S., and I don’t have time for it.”

Clowney believes that if not for his usage, he'd have 10 sacks, which is delusional.

It's interesting that Clowney mentioned winning, since this may force the Browns to put him on the inactive list before their final game. The Browns have also done more winning as of late, winning four of their last six when they've taken full advantage of Garrett, putting him in position to make impact plays. They waited two and a half months for Clowney to produce and it didn't happen. Tired of waiting, they made the decision to emphasize their best player.

That was one of the best decisions embattled defensive coordinator Joe Woods made this season. At least Woods was genuinely interested in winning games. One can only wonder if Woods held back from making this move earlier to protect Clowney's fragile ego.

Clowney could have done more and played better, but it's much easier to blame an already unpopular defensive coaching staff.

Should it surprise anyone that Clowney won't hold himself accountable? Absolutely not. This is who he's always been. It's why he's on his fourth team and will soon be looking for a fifth. 

Even after his microfracture surgery he had after his rookie season, no one can deny the talent Clowney has. But he has managed to wear out his welcome with every team he's played for, causing teams to feel it's addition by subtraction to get rid of him. He's entitled and has been ever since he was selected as the #1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.

“I played with J.J. Watt, I was 20 years old at the time, 21, and it was alright for him to be deciding where I line up and (stuff),” he said. “He had already been two-time Defensive Player of the Year. It was cool. I made three Pro Bowls when I was there.”

The Texans he remembers so fondly got tired of Clowney's act, trading him right at the start of the 2019 season to the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks gave up a third round pick, edge rusher Jacob Martin and former Brown Barkevious Mingo. The Texans got more out of Martin than the Seahawks would ever get from Clowney.

When Clowney signed with the Browns, he criticized the Tennessee Titans for not using him correctly when he had the worst season of his career. In his introductory press conference, Aditi Kinkhabwala, who now works for CBS Sports asked Clowney if it was the knee that limited him with the Titans or if it was the scheme.

“I think it was a little bit of both. Early on, I would probably say it was the scheme, and then later on, I feel like it was my knee as far as me continuing the season as far as me playing the season. I just had to pull myself because I felt like I was going to hurt myself even more. If I kept playing on my knee, I was going to be in a worse situation than I would be. That is how I felt so that is how I ended up stopping myself last year.”

Naturally, he didn't hesitate to put the blame elsewhere. This is who he is. Clowney has never shown an ounce of accountability during his career. It should come as no surprise that he would blame the Browns the same way he did the Titans. And wherever Clowney ends up next will go through the same cycle.

"I’m doing this because I love the game, but keep (doing things like that) and making me not love the game.”

Winning is the most important thing to Clowney. Right after money and his numbers, which would be fine if he simply acknowledged he's a mercenary. He loves what the game can do for him. And given the brutality of the game and how finite careers can be, it's difficult to blame him, but Clowney is willing to sell anyone out for his own gain, which in this case includes his teammates.

Woods may lose his job, but it won't be due to anything Clowney said. Frankly, it's bordering on an endorsement, noting that Woods is willing to put the success of the team first. 

There is undoubtedly a team that will give Clowney another shot because of his talent. It just makes it painfully obvious why he ends up signing one-year deals, because Clowney can't resist the urge to undermine his accomplishments by constantly reminding people he's a selfish malcontent.

Jadeveon Clowney had an outstanding season for the Cleveland Browns in 2021, but there's a 95 percent chance the team will not miss him when he's gone. He can lie to himself all he wants, but no one should buy anything he's selling. The Browns knew what he was when they signed him and will move on accordingly.