Cleveland Browns: 5 free agents to sign in order to win in 2020

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 29: Outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney #90 of the Seattle Seahawks makes an interception and runs in the football for a touchdown in the first half of the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on September 29, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. The Seahawks won 27 to 10. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

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Jadeveon Clowney, Seattle Seahawks. (Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

DE Jadeveon Clowney

Although Jadeveon Clowney is ideally a 3-4 outside linebacker, he can play as a 4-3 defensive end for the Browns. More to the point, the Browns won’t always line up in a 4-3 package, even if it will remain their primary setup on defense. So in three-man fronts, Clowney can play as an outside linebacker, and he could even be used as a 4-3 outside linebacker on occasion. There are many ways Clowney can be used, given his versatility and all-around impact.

See, Clowney is more than a pass rusher. Over the past several years, he’s been one of the best edge defenders in the NFL against the run. He’s one of those players who makes everyone around him better, which could be a huge plus for both Myles Garrett and especially the speedy Olivier Vernon.

Clowney has yet to re-sign with the Seattle Seahawks, and it doesn’t seem like the ‘Hawks are going to meet his financial goals. The Browns don’t have a desperate need to sign Clowney and require a splashy edge defender less than, say, the Dallas Cowboys, but Clowney could help this defense go from “good” to “great”.

Although Clowney had only three sacks last season and is thus looking to sign a one-year, prove-it deal, he did quietly force four fumbles and record two more. Clowney is a game-changing playmaker who would not cause the Browns to make a long-term investment, and they have the cap space for 2020 to accommodate a potentially high-upside signing.

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