The Cleveland Browns are significantly over the NFL’s 2025 salary cap figure despite the league increasing the cap by at least $22 million this year.
Cutting former safety Juan Thornhill on Monday is the latest move the organization has made to address that overage.
The move was not a surprising one to analyst Chris Oldach, especially with Thornhill’s production over the past two seasons.
Oldach shared a two-word response to the safety’s time in Cleveland after the news broke, noting that Thornhill failed to live up to the team’s expectations for him.
“Grossly underwhelming,” Oldach said of Thornhill.
"Grossly underwhelming," – @HammerNation19 and @TheOGPAW react to the news of the Browns releasing Juan Thornhill. pic.twitter.com/W0iTr2yGED
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) February 24, 2025
The analyst pointed to Thornhill’s inability to stop opponents in the passing game as part of the disappointment he had from the safety.
Oldach noted that the 29-year-old defender had only broken up four passes during his two-year stint with Cleveland, and he had zero interceptions in the 22 contests he played for the Browns.
Thornhill had been much more productive for his former team, finishing with 20 pass deflections and eight interceptions during his time with the Chiefs.
Cleveland signed him in 2023 after Thornhill had won two Super Bowls with Kansas City, and the safety played in nearly all of his former team’s regular season games during that four-year stint.
Health issues forced Thornhill to miss 12 games over the past two seasons with the Browns.
The Browns’ decision to waive Thornhill will leave a void in the safety position for 2025.
In addition to Thornhill, veteran safety Rodney McLeod will not return after announcing he would retire after the 2024 season.
NEXT: Juan Thornhill Has One Word Reaction To His Release From Browns
