'Browns B.S.!' Ravens Jadeveon Clowney Signs, Pokes at Cleveland?
Newly-signed pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney hasn't played a down with the Baltimore Ravens yet. The numbers on his practice jersey are probably still hot. Yet, he's already partaking in one of Charm City football's most time-honored traditions.
Clowney engaged in what could be viewed as verbal battery of the Cleveland Browns, who have been one of the Ravens' most common punching bags since the turn of the century: Baltimore has earned a 35-13 record since Cleveland re-entered the league in 1999 ... a resurrection made necessary by the Ravens' founding three years prior in an infamous relocation incident.
Speaking with the Ravens' official site, Clowney mentioned he was drawn to Baltimore by a team-wide desire to win.
"The guys just want to win," Clowney said. "They call and say, 'We're just trying to win. We can do it here. With the pieces around us, you can come in and help.'" I think they got a great team and a great chance to win. I want to be a part of it."
Those comments and goals seem innocent enough and fairly common among the Ravens and their NFL brethren. But previous comments from Clowney hint at a deeper jab at the Ravens' AFC North foe.
The pass rusher and top pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, spent the last two seasons with the Browns. He was decent enough statistically but went out with the wrong kind of bang: toward the end of his second and final season with the Browns, Clowney said that the team was more concerned about individual accolades for star defender Myles Garrett than they were about getting back to the postseason.
"You're all trying to get (Garrett) into the Hall of Fame instead of winning games," Clowney told Cleveland.com in January. "I don't even think he notices. 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, and it's B.S., and I don't have time for it."
In those comments, Clowney more or less confirmed that he wouldn't be back in Cleveland. The Browns indirectly granted his wish by keeping Clowney off the active roster for their 2022 season finale against Pittsburgh.
Despite Garrett living up to his own top-pick billing, hearing his name called first three years after Clowney, the Browns have made only a single postseason appearance in that span (2020). A three-time Pro Bowler, Clowney is one of several accomplished talents Baltimore has brought in as it seeks to make a deeper postseason run. Time will tell if Cleveland takes things personally and creates a rockier road for the Ravens when they meet for their traditional pair later this season.
The first half of that couple is scheduled for Oct. 1 in Cleveland as part of Week 4 action. In the meantime, Baltimore will continue its preseason slate on Monday night in a nationally televised tilt with the Washington Commanders (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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