Juan Thornhill ready to turn page on 'frustrating' first season with Browns

BEREA — Juan Thornhill's first season with the Browns had been over for roughly 16 hours when the safety went to one of his favorite social media platforms to express his sentiments on what had just occurred.

Not what had just occurred for the Browns, who lost in Saturday's AFC wild card game at the Houston Texans. Instead, about what had occurred for him personally in a year that Thornhill thought held so much promise for him.

"One of my most frustrating years of football!" Thornhill posted on X Sunday morning. "Trying to play through injury all season and not being able to give the City the best version of myself. I know it didn’t end the way we wanted but Cleveland We will be back!! (two-finger peace sign emoji) (hands forming heart emoji)."

Thornhill was one of the Browns' big free-agent acquisitions when free agency began in the spring. He signed three-year, $21 million deal with Cleveland fresh off winning a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Instead, a calf injury he suffered in Week 4 against the Baltimore Ravens lingered like an unwanted guest. And as the playoffs drew near, it only intensified, costing Thornhill five of the final eight regular-season games.

"I came back too fast," Thornhill said Sunday, as the Browns players cleaned out their lockers. "It was a grade two strain, so to really look at a grade two strain takes a month, a month and a half to actually fully heal. I didn't have that time to let it heal, so I kept trying to come back and get back on the field, but every time I got out there, I was just re-aggravating it, straining it over and over again.

"And, I mean, it just seemed like I was just hurt all the time, but it was just one injury that was just lingering the whole season."

The frustrating part of it all was that injuries had not been something Thornhill had dealt with often throughout his first four seasons with the Chiefs. The only time he missed before the multiple games late this season was as a rookie in 2019, when he tore his ACL and missed Kansas City's run to the Super Bowl title.

Thornhill also missed this season's opener against the Cincinnati Bengals with a calf injury. However, he clarified on Sunday that was an injury unrelated to the calf injury that ultimately sabotaged his first year in Cleveland.

The injury frustration wasn't exclusive to Thornhill on this Browns team, which finished the season with nine starters on injured reserve. That's a lot of motivation to carry into the offseason when left to wonder what could've been with a healthy team.

"I mean, this team, guys worked their asses off all year," said Thornhill, who finished with 54 tackles and one pass defensed. "It sucks that we didn't get to get to the top game, but I feel like guys will be back next year really hungry because guys have that experience now. Guys been in the playoffs and played at the top level. So guys definitely will be back and ready to go."

The Browns are banking on that at safety, because that was one of the positions where the injuries really hit hard. Besides Thornhill's lingering calf injury, Grant Delpit suffered a groin injury in a Week 14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars that landed him on injured reserve and, because of the loss Saturday, cost him the remainder of his season.

Veteran Rodney McLeod, essentially a third starter at the position, also ended the season on injured reserve. He suffered a biceps tear in Week 11 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"No, I mean, in this league, if you're on the field, you can't make any excuses," Thornhill said. "So, I mean, I was injured. I made the decision to go out there and play injured, so you just can't make any excuses."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Juan Thornhill optimistic after 'frustrating' first year with Browns