Juan Thornhill is only a few weeks away from officially being two-thirds through his contract with the Cleveland Browns. We're pretty sure the ride will end there.
Following two seasons played by injuries and frustrating effort, the Browns are likely to cut ties with Thornhill following the 2022 campaign instead of keeping him on the books. Even with the considerable dead cap space that an early release would demand, it's still a move worth making—which is quite telling for just how poorly things have gone for Thornhill in Cleveland in the first place.
The Cleveland Browns are likely to make Juan Thornhill available as a free agent after this season.
Back in '23, the Browns decided to import some safety help in order to bolster the back of their defense with the signings of Thornhill and Rodney McLeod to go with a younger starter like Grant Delpit. In a tough, physical division like the AFC North, a strong safety rotation is critical to limiting big plays and more.
Cleveland offered a three-year, $21 million deal in free agency, which was enough to get him out of Kansas City. The Chiefs, for their part, had already prepped for life without Thornhill, having drafted Bryan Cook in the second round in '22. As ideal as he was on paper as Jim Schwartz's center-fielder, the truth is that reality was never mirrored on the field.
A calf injury plagued Thornhill for the second half of his first season in Cleveland, and he often took the field as a shell of his former self. In 11 games, Thornhill allowed a 117 passer rating. The physical limitations hurt the Browns far more than he helped, and that theme carried over into this year as well, as Thornhill has only played in 7 of Cleveland's 13 games.
In the games he has played, Thornhill has taken serious criticism this year for his skill set and effort. The veteran safety even owned up to jogging while watching Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a long touchdown catch. His questionable efforts drew considerable reproval online and Thornhill apologized the following week to fans.
This year, a calf injury is again to blame for his absences. Even when healthy, as he was back in Week 14, he only played 31 percent of snaps. Other safeties are outplaying Thornhill at this point—ahem, Ronnie Hickman—and they come at a much cheaper rate than Thornhill.
This means that Thornhill will likely be playing one of his final games for the Browns on Sunday as he takes the field to face his former team in Week 15. Given the injury history and the way things are playing out in Cleveland, it's hard to imagine any bidding wars for Thornhill are coming if he does hit the market again soon.
