Browns takeaways: Jadeveon Clowney resurrected his career. Now it's on GM Andrew Berry to re-sign him

CLEVELAND — Jadeveon Clowney left the 2021 season with some of the best production of his career and in good health.

That's a huge deal for any player with an extensive injury history like Clowney's.

“It’s great. I’ve been smiling from ear to ear,” Clowney said after he helped the Browns defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 21-16 in Cleveland's season finale Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.

“I’m happy to get through this year nothing wrong with me. Played well. Had a great season.”

The Browns (8-9) failed to meet expectations and will be watching the AFC North champion Bengals (10-7) in the playoffs, but Clowney did not disappoint on an individual basis.

In fact, Clowney resurrected his career.

The three-time Pro Bowl defensive end tallied two sacks against Bengals backup quarterback Brandon Allen and finished the season with nine — just a half sack shy of the career-high 9½ he compiled in 2017. He also pressured Allen five times, according to ProFootballFocus.com.

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Clowney played 14 games — the most since he played 15 in 2018.

“I’ve always said in my head if I ever can get to the point where I’m healthy enough, I can play in any scheme, any situation, any team in this league,” Clowney said. “I know I can play in this league. Just being healthy has always been my problem.”

The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2014, Clowney had microfracture surgery on his right knee as a Houston Texans rookie, and injuries piled up on him from there. He played only eight games and failed to record a sack in an injury-shortened 2021 season with the Tennessee Titans. He underwent knee surgery on Dec. 6, 2021, on torn meniscus cartilage.

Clowney said he believes he has done a better job taking care of his body as he's gotten older.

“Injuries do some stuff to you, man,” Clowney added. “It’s really a mental thing more than anything — just like, ‘How much do I got left?’ or ‘How much more do I want to keep doing this, keep fighting just to get out there?’

“The older I get, the healthier I’ve been getting lately, so hopefully it continues.”

Clowney missed two games last month due to COVID-19 and one because he experienced soreness in a knee during pregame warm-ups in Week 5.

“He was healthy [for most of the season],” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski. “I think so many times in his past he hasn't been healthy and has been unavailable due to injuries. He plays the game very hard. He plays with reckless abandon. I think he was fortunate in a lot of areas to be healthy. He missed two games due to COVID, so unlucky there, but all in all, he was available.

“He plays hard. He plays hard week in and week out. Very disruptive. Uses his length and uses his power and will. Was around the ball. He did a nice job.”

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Clowney proved to be a brilliant free-agent acquisition by Browns General Manager Andrew Berry, who pursued the defender in 2020 before finally luring him to Cleveland in April on a one-year contract worth up to $10 million in incentives.

Berry made safety John Johnson III the biggest investment of last offseason (three years, $33.75 million) as the GM revamped the Cleveland defense. But Clowney is the player who actually became the face of the group of new defenders.

Now Clowney is the most important impending unrestricted free agent on the roster for Berry to re-sign this offseason. The veteran player is scheduled to hit the open market when free agency kicks off at 4 p.m. March 16.

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Clowney has made it clear he's open to coming back, but the money will need to be right for him to stay in Cleveland.

“It is about money but [also] about being comfortable in the right place, guys around you,” Clowney said. “All that comes into play when you decide where to go.”

Clowney will turn 29 on Feb. 14 and sounds as if he realizes this might be the last time in his career he'll be able to command a monster deal.

“Especially coming out of this season [and] you’re playing at a high level, you want to be paid like it,” he said. “I had a couple years I’ve been hurt, but I always thought I’ve been playing well. I’ve just been injured. I just wanted to make it through a year healthy and show people that I can play at a high level [and] stay healthy.

“My goal this year was to really be in a healthier place than I have been the last few years. I think I reached that. So going into the offseason, I’m already ahead of the curve. I ain’t got nothing to get fixed [with surgery]. No injuries. So I’m just trying to take care of myself and get ready for next year.”

The Browns will be in good shape with their salary cap this offseason, so signing Clowney should be realistic. It will take a lucrative offer to retain him, but per game roster bonuses and playing time incentives can protect the club against injury to some degree.

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Jadeveon Clowney's two sacks vs. Bengals bumped up bonus another $250,000 for total of $750,000

Speaking of incentives, Clowney earned an extra $750,000 in his first Browns season by reaching nine sacks, according to spotrac.com.

His two sacks against the Bengals got him there. His second one against Allen also resulted in a forced fumble during the second quarter. He nearly recovered the ball but lost it while trying to scoop it off the ground. He needed seven sacks for the season to reach $500,000, and he did so last week with two sacks in a 26-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett has been telling Clowney he wants him back next season, and Clowney said the sales pitch is meaningful to him.

“We feed off each other out there, so it’s a good thing,” Clowney said.

The Browns had found a complement to Garrett in defensive end Olivier Vernon, who registered nine sacks in 14 games in the 2020 season before he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon. Clowney successfully filled the void created by Vernon's departure and became a worthy running mate to Garrett, who finished the 2021 season with a career-high 16 sacks.

“We both want to compete to get to the quarterback before each other,” Clowney said. “We both think we can beat our guys real fast and get there, so whenever I’m turning that corner I’m looking across from me like, ‘Hey, is he there or not?’ I always tell him, ‘Come on, you’ve got to be there with me,’ or he’ll always tells me to get there. He knows I can win. I know he can win. So it’s always good to have that. ... I hope we can keep that going.”

Clowney said he had a blast with Garrett and his other defensive teammates.

“It’s definitely one of the funnest teams that I’ve played on,” he added.

Clowney also liked playing for defensive coordinator Joe Woods, defensive line coach Chris Kiffin and other assistants on that side of the ball.

“I think Joe’s got a great defense,” Clowney said. “He put it together well. The thing I like is they listen to what everybody thinks.

“We’re like, 'Hey, Coach, we think we can do it this way.' He always takes our advice and tries to incorporate it into the game plan as well. I just like that he listens to the players.”

All of it appeals to Clowney, but money will tell the story about whether he's back.

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Cleveland Browns star Nick Chubb finishes second in the NFL in rushing

Browns three-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb has yet to win an NFL rushing title, but he's finished second in the league twice — 2021 and 2019.

Chubb finished the 2021 season with 1,259 yards on 228 carries (5.5 average) and eight touchdowns. He played 14 games, missing two with a calf injury and one with COVID-19.

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor won the 2021 rushing title with 332 carries for 1,811 yards (5.5 average) and 18 touchdowns. He played all 17 games.

In 2019, Chubb lost the rushing title to the Titans' Derrick Henry by 46 yards (1,540 to 1,494).

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Despite the Bengals resting most of their starters for the playoffs, Stefanski had his healthy starters on the field Sunday.

Chubb started and rushed nine times for 58 yards (6.4 average) while third-string running back D'Ernest Johnson backed him up. Kareem Hunt was inactive with an ankle injury. Johnson rushed 25 times for 123 yards (4.9 average) and a touchdown. When Johnson needed a breather late in the third quarter, Chubb entered the game ripped off a 35-yard run.

“I've probably run out of superlatives for that young man,” Stefanski said of Chubb. “He's a team guy all the way. He'll do whatever is asked of him because he wants to help the team win.

“To see [our players] fight for each other and with each other one last time, I think that tells you a lot about our guys.”

Remember in 2020 when Chubb ran out of bounds at the 1-yard to ice a victory over the Houston Texans instead of scoring a touchdown and giving the ball back to the opponent? He epitomizes selflessness.

He's also the only player in the league to rush for at least 950 yards in each of the past four seasons.

Myles Garrett's 16 sacks fall between official and unofficial single-season franchise records

Garrett sacked Allen in the third quarter, increasing his career-high sack total to 16 for the season.

In a 24-22 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 12, Garrett set the official single-season franchise record for sacks, surpassing Reggie Camp's 14 set in 1984.

The late Bill Glass owns the unofficial single-season franchise sack record. The Browns credit Glass with 14½ sacks in 1965, but pro-football-reference.com gives him 16½ in the same season. Sacks didn't become an official stat until 1982.

A groin injury Garrett suffered Dec. 20 in a 16-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders set him back. He went three games without a sack, until he ended the drought in the finale.

“He was relentless around the football,” Stefanski said. “Oftentimes, they were throwing quick [passes], throwing screens and chipping as people do, but to go get one in this last game, it was pretty cool to see that for him.”

Garrett playing all 17 games — his first full season since 2018 — is significant. If he can build on that, breaking all of the team's sack records, official or unofficial, will be inevitable for him.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns' Jadeveon Clowney resurrected career, Cleveland should re-sign