Myles Garrett wants 'volunteers, not hostages' after Browns send Jadeveon Clowney home

BEREA — Jadeveon Clowney's time with the Cleveland Browns may very well be over. If it is, it ended with him being sent home from practice two days before the season finale.

The discipline came on Friday, a day after Clowney made inflammatory remarks about the organization and his future in it in an interview with Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot. Coach Kevin Stefanski said he's already made a decision about the defensive end's status for the finale at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, but would not disclose it publicly.

The 29-year-old Clowney was on a one-year deal, the second one he had signed with the Browns. He told Cleveland.com on Thursday he was "95% percent sure" he won't be back when he becomes an unrestricted free agent at 4 p.m. March 15, but "there's still that 5%," something he seemed to tie into the return of the Browns' defensive staff.

Those comments, in and of itself, weren't want led to what potentially could be Clowney's Cleveland swan song. Other comments to Cleveland.com that ranged from the organization's belief in him — "I need to be around somebody that believes in me and my ability" — to how he was utilized in comparison with fellow star end Myles Garrett — "You’re all trying to get somebody into the Hall of Fame when all that matters is winning" — were what set the wheels in motion that may have moved him out of town.

"I want volunteers not hostages," Garrett said Friday. "If you feel like no one believes in you here, then go. Go where you feel like you’re wanted, you're loved and you can be appreciated."

Defensive line coach Chris Kiffin said Friday afternoon that Clowney was in the building at the start of the day. He was in the building for the positional meeting, at which time Kiffin addressed the situation.

Kiffin wouldn't say exactly what was said in the meeting, other than to say "that I thought he handled it the wrong way as a man." It was at some point after that meeting that Clowney left the building.

Stefanski also spoke with Clowney before he was excused for the day.

“JD is somebody who I respect," Stefanski said. "He is a veteran. We have had conversations, yes, but I just don’t think it is fair in this setting [to talk about those conversations]. I understand the question — I do — but I just think it is fair to our team that we keep those conversations internal.”

The root of Clowney's frustration with his usage dates all the way back to the Browns' Oct. 23 loss in Baltimore to the Ravens. He had missed three of the previous four games, including the previous week's loss to the New England Patriots, due to an ankle injury.

The Browns' defensive game plan that day involved flipping the two star ends around, with Garrett starting by lining up over Ravens right tackle Morgan Moses and Clowney over left tackle Ronnie Stanley. Clowney eventually refused to go into the game, except for on third downs.

Clowney ended up playing just 23 snaps, or 36% of the Browns' defensive snaps that day. Garrett played 51 snaps (80%) in the loss.

"Working through that Baltimore game, yeah, he came off the field, said that he was hurting and he said that, first third down came after that moment, I said, 'Can you go on third?'" Kiffin said. "He's like, 'Yeah.' And he went and then next series said he couldn't go on first, so that's where we were, he played third down that game."

The next week, the Browns played host to the Cincinnati Bengals on "Monday Night Football." Rookie Alex Wright started and played the first defensive series in Clowney's place, which is what he would do if Clowney doesn't play against Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Kiffin confirmed on Friday the decision to not start Clowney was a disciplinary measure due to his insubordination in the Baltimore game. That's one of four times this season the Browns have disciplined a defensive player for some length of time in a game.

Rookie defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey was inactive for the Week 2 loss to the New York Jets due to disciplinary reasons. Safety Grant Delpit did not play the first defensive snap of the Week 10 loss at the Miami Dolphins for an unspecified disciplinary reason, while Garrett didn't play the first series of the Week 16 loss to the New Orleans Saints for what he called a "miscommunication" that led to disciplinary action.

"It's hard to put my finger on it," safety John Johnson III said. "Obviously when you don't have the success that you want, things start happening — I'm not saying that happened here — but whether it's blame or people defending themselves or stuff like that, it's always going to happen. It's just, like I said, a product of not getting the outcome that we wanted and just got to find a way to defuse it and move forward."

There's a strong chance Clowney, who indicated a defensive coaching staff change could play a role in his return, could get his wish. The heat has been on defensive coordinator Joe Woods all season as his defense has dealt with inconsistency and a sub-par run defense.

Those struggles to stop the run started around the same time both Clowney and Garrett missed various amounts of time. Clowney sustained an ankle sprain in the third quarter against the Jets, while Garrett suffered a shoulder sprain and a biceps strain in a one-car accident on Sept. 26

Garrett only missed one game, a Week 4 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, before returning. Clowney missed Week 3 against Pittsburgh, the Atlanta game and then the Week 6 game against New England.

"Everyone has their way of dealing with things," Garrett said. "For some, it's better to wait and not hamper themselves with injury and some can linger and take away from your production and your film. And so whether you're going to stay here for the long run or you're going to go somewhere else, you don't want to put bad film out there. But also if you can play at a high level and you believe that what you can do is at an elite tier, then continue to do what you do or injury or not."

Clowney missed the Saints game as he recovered from a concussion. He sustained the concussion in the second quarter of the Browns' second meeting against the Ravens in Week 15.

In last Sunday's win at the Washington Commanders, Clowney played 51 snaps, which was 74% of the Browns' defensive snaps. He had a five tackles, which tied a season high he had previously in a Week 5 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, another game in which he was coming off an injury.

"I want to be part of this team," Clowney said after the Commanders game. "I do it for this locker room, the guys I go to war with, the guys in the locker room, nobody else, really. It's all about my teammates to me. I always have been about them. I'm always about my boys."

Clowney has played in 12 games this season. He had just two sacks, four quarterback hits and four tackles for loss this season in 10 starts, as well as a forced fumble in which he recovered on a strip-sack of the Jets' Joe Flacco.

Garrett, with whom Clowney combined for 25 sacks in 2021, has 15 sacks this season. He's one shy of tying his franchise single-season record of 16, which he set a year ago.

"I didn't sense any jealousy," Garrett said, "but I feel like what I've done speaks for itself and I feel like of course they're going to put me in positions where I can make plays, but there are also going to be positions where I'm going to get double teamed. Like, I move all over the line and he's moved as well. We're both moved to be put in favorable matchups. That's kind of the name of the game. Put your guy against their best and then put your guy against their worst and see what happens. And he's getting those same looks."

This year's struggles, at least statistically, comes on the heels of a career renaissance Clowney experienced in his first season with the Browns. He played in 14 games in 2021, recording nine sacks and earning a Pro Bowl alternate spot while under a one-year contract.

The games played and sack total were both the best for Clowney since his 2018 Pro Bowl season in Houston, when he played in 15 games and had nine sacks. He waited until May 22, though, to officially re-sign with the Browns, claiming part of the draw was to reunite with quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Clowney and Watson were teammates together in 2017 and 2018 in Houston. The Texans had made Clowney the No. 1 overall pick in 2014, while Watson was the 12th overall pick in the 2017 draft.

Houston dealt Clowney prior to the 2019 season to the Seattle Seahawks, where he played 13 games and recorded three sacks. He then signed with the Tennessee Titans for the 2020 season, playing just eight games.

Now, after playing consecutive seasons with the same team for the first time since he was with Houston, Clowney appears to be on his way elsewhere.

"If it's the end, I mean, I want someone who's here to win games, who's going to give his all at all times, not just when he's feeling good or he's not," Garrett said. "And I think a lot of the times he's definitely brought that. I think the Ravens game is really an outlier for him, and I wish him the best, whatever happens, if he stays here or not.

"I mean, if he does stay here, you know, we all have to come to an agreement, an understanding about how the situation's going to be across the line and how we can help each other and build up each other."

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett wants 'volunteers' after Jadeveon Clowney sent home