There will be no reunion between Jadeveon Clowney and the Cleveland Browns. Instead, the defensive end is heading back to where it all began.
Clowney is signing with the Houston Texans, according to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport. The 33-year-old was originally selected No. 1 overall by the Texans in the 2014 draft and played his first five seasons there.
The Browns had Clowney in for a visit on the first day of training camp July 29. Browns general manager Andrew Berry said the next day that the visit went well, but it also came and went without a deal signed.
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“Really good visit, things we still have to work through,” Berry said July 30. “Hopeful that we can add him to the team, but it’s still in the balance.”
The Browns remain in the market for more help at the defensive end position. They obviously have 25-year-old, two-time Pro Bowler Jared Verse at the top of their depth chart after acquiring him from the Los Angeles Rams in June for two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.
Verse is like most of the position group, still very young. Alex Wright, Isaiah McGuire and Adin Huntington, the top three ends behind Verse, are all 25 or younger.
The oldest defensive end on the roster currently is 28-year-old Julian Okwara. Clowney would have been second-oldest player on the Browns roster had he signed.
“You can’t look at roster construction in a vacuum,” Berry said. “Certainly, we’ve had a bit of a youth movement here, but that doesn’t necessarily mean every transaction is going to be a 24-year-old player or something along those lines. Other things come into play, the role and fit, the financial cost and how it fits into the broader construction of either the position group or the side of the ball.”
The Browns are one of the seven teams Clowney has played for since entering the league. He played for Cleveland from 2021-22.
Clowney signed two one-year deals with the Browns. He finished with 65 tackles, 11 sacks, 23 quarterback hits, 15 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in 26 career games in Cleveland.
Clowney’s time in Cleveland ended unceremoniously. He was essentially suspended for the 2022 season’s finale when the team sent him home from the facility the Friday before the game, then left him home for the trip to Pittsburgh.
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That came from an interview Clowney did that week with Cleveland.com in which he made inflammatory remarks about several Browns-related subjects. Those remarks didn’t just talk about his future with the team — as he was an unrestricted free agent after the season — but also took shots at the Browns coaching staff at the time, particularly for what he perceived as favoritism in schemes designed for his teammate, Garrett.
“I’d say two things to that,” Berry said of any lingering bad blood. “No. 1, reconciliation is possible in life, and I don’t subscribe to the notion of defining people by their worst or best moment. In this case, it was a moment of weakness he made a mistake, it’s something you talk through. We’ve maintained a good relationship with JD since 2022. The second thing is, we had him for two years, and it was 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.”
The former University of South Carolina product spent the 2026 season with the Dallas Cowboys. He had 8.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss, plus a forced fumble and two fumble recoveies.
Clowney has played for the Texans, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers and Cowboys. He has 66.5 career sacks, 16 forced fumbles, 11 fumble recoveries, one interception and 120 tackles for loss.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jadeveon Clowney to have reunion, but it won’t be with Browns
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
