Gamecock great Jadeveon Clowney finds new home with AFC North team

Jadeveon Clowney passed on playing for the Cleveland Browns last season but didn’t this time around.

The former South Carolina standout and No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick is signing a free-agent contract with the Cleveland Browns, according to multiple reports Wednesday. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mary Kay Cabot with the Cleveland Plain Dealer were the first with the news, reporting that Clowney is signing a one-year contract with the Browns.

Clowney played last season for the Tennessee Titans, but Cleveland was one of the teams he considered. The Browns will be Clowney’s fourth different team in last four seasons.

Clowney also played for the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks. Last year, he played in only eight games, recording 19 tackles but no sacks for only the second time in his seven-year career.

Clowney had a career-high 9.5 sacks in 2017 for the Texans, who selected him with the top pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He has made the Pro Bowl three times in his career.

The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Clowney was the No. 1 recruit in the country coming out of South Pointe High School in Rock Hill for the Class of 2011. He picked the University of South Carolina in a nationally televised ceremony.

One of Clowney’s signature moments with the Gamecocks was his tackle, dubbed “The Hit,” against Michigan’s Vincent Smith in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2013. He won an ESPY award for Player of the Year for the tackle.