Browns: 3 potential scapegoats if things go wrong in Cleveland
By John Buhler
Jimmy Haslam has plenty of people to blame besides himself if the Cleveland Browns are bad.
While most of the Cleveland Browns‘ perpetual misery is caused by ownership, Jimmy Haslam is blessed with many possible scapegoats on his football team should Cleveland struggle this fall.
There are so many reasons why the Browns have made it to the playoffs twice since they came back into being a franchise in 1999. Only once have the Browns qualified for the postseason during Haslam’s ownership. While they did win a playoff game in the lone year they made it, they just traded away the quarterback who won them that game ahead of his fifth-year option season.
Looking into the mirror has never been Cleveland’s forte, so let’s play the 2022 blame game then!
Cleveland Browns: 3 possible scapegoat candidates for a failed 2022 NFL season
Jadeveon Clowney. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. DE. Cleveland Browns. 3. 53
Jadeveon Clowney is the biggest name playing on a one-year contract for them
Should the Browns underwhelm once again for a myriad of reasons, there are not a lot of players they can realistically point the finger at. Key players from last year’s team like Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry and Baker Mayfield are all gone. For the most part, most of Cleveland’s best players are all on multi-year deals. Yes, they can cut a guy, but they could also blame Jadeveon Clowney…
After a forgettable 2020 NFL season with the Tennessee Titans, Clowney actually had a strong first year with the Browns. He had nine sacks in 14 games for Cleveland, his most since his last season with the Houston Texans in 2018. Of course, Clowney did get to play opposite of pass-rushing phenom Myles Garrett, much like he did in his prime with Houston alongside J.J. Watt.
In short, Clowney is what he is at this point of his career. He is better at setting the edge and helping out on run defense than rushing the quarterback. Since he largely overachieved a season ago in Cleveland, a predictable regression to the mean could result in him leaving the organization after two years. He also re-signed with the Browns again, strictly to play with Deshaun Watson…
If Cleveland fails to make the playoffs, one could expect it will be the end of the line for Clowney.