Cleveland Browns safety Juan Thornhill is defending himself after a post he made on social media went viral for the wrong reasons over the weekend.
Thornhill signed with the Browns in 2023 after four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. He won a pair of Super Bowls with the Chiefs and hoped to bring some of that championship pedigree to the Browns.
“All of the pieces are here,” Thornhill said. “I feel like all of the pieces are here and we have that capability of getting there and making a splash in the playoffs and making it to the Super Bowl.”
That plan hasn’t worked out for Thornhill with the Browns. He’s dealt with injuries, limiting his impact on the field. Cleveland stumbled to a 3-14 record this season—a significant setback after some decently successful years, including a postseason berth during the 2023 campaign.
While watching his former team in the AFC Championship, Thornhill made a post on TikTok that caught the attention of Browns fans.
“Should be playing today but… NVM,” Thornhill wrote.
Some fans believed that Thornhill might wish he stayed with the Chiefs.
“Is Juan Thornhill on TikTok possibly indicating he wish he’d have stayed in KC or something else?” one fan said.
Browns’ Juan Thornhill Defends Post
Others also questioned Thornhill’s motivations for the post, which created unwanted buzz. He clapped back at the criticism on X.
“Who doesn’t want to be in the championship game? Yall are annoying,” Thornhill said. “you assumed you knew what I was doing like yall do every week yall are tweeting about me. I get it yall don’t like me and that’s cool.”
It’s not the first time Thornhill has had beef with fans during his tenure in Cleveland. He was also called out during the season for his lack of effort during a loss to the New Orleans Saints. Thornhill could be seen jogging on a play where Saints speedster Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught a pass and ran for a touchdown. He owned up to the mistake.
“I’m just going to be completely honest, I played with MVS out in Kansas City. Guy caught the ball, and I’m just like, ‘This guy runs a 4.3 40, I’m not catching him,'” Thornhill said. “Got a little lazy, and I just I own up to it. But that’s just not me, and that will never happen again.”
Juan Thornhill Cut Candidate for Browns
Thornhill is under contract for one more season with the Browns. However, he’s a potential cut candidate this offseason.
Thornhill has missed 12 games in two seasons due to injury. He also saw his snaps decrease later in the season, with Ronnie Hickman getting more reps.
The Browns’ defense took a step back last season, although the struggling offense putting the unit in tough spots didn’t help. However, Cleveland will return key pieces next season like Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward and others, who will try to turn things around under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
Cleveland holds the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft, which is slated for April.
