Juan Thornhill signs with Cleveland Browns to give safety help

On Mar 17, 2023

Kansas City Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill (22) breaks up a pass intended for Cleveland Browns wide receiver Anthony Schwartz (10) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The Browns’ free-agent deal with former Kansas City Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill is official, the team announced

The deal, which was first reported on Wednesday, is for three years and $21 million with $14 million fully guaranteed at signing over the first two years.

“I can’t wait to get on the field and show Cleveland what I have,” Thornhill said in a statement. “Having the chance to play on this defense is going to be special and I’m thankful to have the opportunity. Let’s go Dawg Pound.”

The Browns found themselves in the safety market when they elected to release John Johnson III. They do still have Grant Delpit on the roster, but the 2020 draft pick is in the final year of his contract.

Thornhill comes in and allows Delpit to play more in the box under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. He played 857 of his 1,249 defensive snaps last season at free safety for the Chiefs.

“Juan is a talented young player, who brings a ton of experience from a winning environment,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said in a statement. “He has great instincts and is always around the ball. He will be a good addition to our defense.”

The 27-year-old Thornhill was a second-round pick of the Chiefs out of the University of Virginia. He’s played 65 regular-season and nine playoff games for Kansas City in his career, with 58 combined starts.

One could call Thornhill’s performance this past season for the eventual Super Bowl champions the best of his career, at least in many of the statistics. He had a career-high-tying three interceptions to go with career highs in passes defensed (nine), sacks (one), combined tackles (71) and tackles for loss (four).