Jadeveon Clowney is headed to Baltimore.
In a move that takes the most valuable NFL free agent left off the board, the Ravens are signing the veteran defensive end to a one-year deal, multiple sources reported Friday.
Clowney, 30, spent his last two seasons with the Browns, with whom he racked up 11 sacks and 23 quarterback hits.
A former No. 1 overall pick in 2014, Clowney began his career with the Texans, where he compiled three straight Pro Bowl appearances from 2016 to 2018.
Clowney, who also spent one season in Seattle and Tennessee, has 43 sacks over 109 games during his career.
Former Browns teammate Odell Beckham Jr., who also signed with the Ravens this offseason, seemed thrilled with the signing.
“Fireeeeeee!!” the ex-Giants receiver wrote.
The signing figures to help a Baltimore defense that needs reinforcements, especially after it was announced this week that star cornerback Marlon Humphrey would undergo surgery on his foot.
Baltimore’s defense was a strong unit last year, finishing third in the league in points allowed as the Ravens went 10-7 and lost in the wild-card round of the playoffs to the Bengals.
The defensive end’s tenure in Cleveland went up in flames after Clowney’s relationship with the team soured toward the end of last year.
Clowney expressed frustration with the Browns’ assignments on the defensive line, telling Cleveland.com that he believed star lineman Myles Garrett was receiving advantageous matchups instead of Clowney because “you’re all trying to get somebody into the Hall of Fame when all that matters is winning.”
“Ninety-five percent sure I won’t be back [in Cleveland],” Clowney said at the time. “But there’s still that 5 percent. You never know what can happen.”
Clowney’s signing, along with the Jets inking Dalvin Cook and the Patriots signing Ezekiel Elliot, signals that the stars of this year’s NFL free-agent class have mostly found new homes.
Cornerbacks Isaiah Rodgers and Ronald Darby remain on the market, as well as veteran running backs Kareem Hunt and Leonard Fournette.