WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.VA — When Juan Thornhill got to Cleveland, he had a lot of goals. Among them was one that seemed almost inevitable he'd achieve with his high energy and positive personality: becoming a fan favorite among the Dawg Pound. Over the past year, that goal has become more challenging for him than he may have realized—but the Cleveland Browns' safety isn't giving up just yet as he sets his sights on a healthy, standout season in 2024.
Thornhill spent the 2023 season dealing with a calf injury that flared up just before the season began and lingered throughout the year. He missed six games with the injury and when he was on the field, he was never fully healthy. Still, Thornhill played when he could, despite what he knows now in hindsight.
"Just me being so competitive that I was putting myself out there and playing through the pain. That's what I was trying to do. I knew my calf wasn't 100%. It was probably honestly [more like] 50%," Thornhill said. "But every time I went out there and tried to play I feel like I was just hurting the team, just trying to make a play, and I'm just so competitive. But it definitely sucked, coming into a program and organization when everyone has high expectations for you and then all of a sudden you just feel like you missed half of the season."
Feeling like he was letting the team down was hard enough to deal with. Feeling like he was letting the fans down wasn't any better.
Thornhill has been very active on social media. He's replied to fans, hyped up his teammates, and preached the goals of the organization in 280 characters or less week in and week out. Before the season, that made fans excited. But when he wasn't on the field, or when he was struggling to play to his highest ability due to the injury, that excitement turned to frustration.
The Browns safety will be the first to admit he understands some of that frustration but also pledges that he won't stop being himself.
"A lot of people say that they don't see what fans tweet and what they say, but if you have social media, I'm going to be honest, you see it, it's almost impossible. You play a game, and all of a sudden, you have fans tweeting at you and '@-ing' you and stuff. As soon as you click, that notification is there. So it's obvious, it's obvious that you're going to see it.
"Honestly, I'm one of those people that's going to speak, I want to be positive about everything, but I feel like a lot of people took it the wrong way. They said that I talk too much and things like that. But I'm that person that wants to step in and speak positivity. If you talk about going to the Super Bowl, if you're saying it all the time, you actually have that goal, you have that vision, you can see it. But if I just go in like, 'I just hope we can win this week,' you're not positive, you're not confident. So I just feel like some people didn't like it, but I'm going to continue being me."
Thornhill hasn't rejected all of the feedback, negative or positive. In fact, this offseason, he has channeled some of that frustration into actions he's taken.
On the social media front, Thornhill is stepping away for a while. He plans to let his play do the talking for the time being. After talking to his wife, Reagan, Thornhill decided to delete Twitter from his apps. If someone tweets him, he won't see it, dedicating himself to "focusing strictly on football."
As for his health and availability, often referred to around the league as "the best ability," the Browns' safety has been putting in the work.
"This offseason, I felt like I did probably one of the hardest workouts that I've ever been through since college because...mentally, I told myself I couldn't do what I did last season, so I feel pretty good and I'm ready to go," Thornhill said. "I actually put on six pounds of muscle, I lost some fat, and my plan is just to keep it going, put on more muscle so I can lay the wood on people and light them up when they come across that middle and then be fast when the ball's in the air."
Thornhill's hard work has been noticed and appreciated by his team. Head coach Kevin Stefanski noted how much that offseason work has shown.
“Juan’s been great. He’s in very good shape. He’s done a nice job of taking care of his body throughout the spring and into this summer. So, I think he’s feeling healthy. As you know, it’s a challenge to play up to your ability when you’re having a nagging injury, and he had a nagging injury last year. So, he’s feeling very healthy and we’re excited about that for him," Stefanski said.
But while Thornhill has impressed his teammates and coaches, there's still that lingering goal he set upon his arrival that he hasn't yet reached, but still hopes to.
"These are passionate fans. If they bring a guy in that they're paying a lot of money to, they want him to perform, so I can understand their frustration with me not being on the field and they just keep seeing me play one week and then all of a sudden I'm hurt again and they think I'm just always hurt. But it's not that, it's: I have one injury that I just can't get over.
"And with me trying to play for those fans, I want to be on the field, so me staying on the field, I just feel like I was no good for the city. Hopefully I can get out there and I'm going to stay healthy this year and I'm going to put on. Hopefully, I can become that fan favorite again and I think I will. I'm pretty confident in my ability and what I can do on the field," Thornhill said.
Thornhill is confident in himself and in his team. He thinks the defense will be even better in 2024, with a focus on playing strong on the road—something they struggled with as a unit last year. He's most excited to see the offense thrive with a healthy Deshaun Watson and new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, among other offensive additions.
And at the end of the day, after putting social media to the side for now and focusing on hitting goals he wasn't quite able to reach last year thanks to that nagging calf injury, Thornhill hopes the fans will allow him to space to reach those goals and become the high caliber player he believes he can be. For the fans, for the Browns and for himself.
"I know it was rough last year, but y'all just got to believe that I'm going to be that player that they want me to be and just keep faith in me. Don't lose faith," Thornhill said. "I'm going to perform. I'm going to be at the top this year and I said it once before, I'm going to have an All-Pro or Pro Bowl type of season. That doesn't mean I'm going to make the Pro Bowl, All-Pro because that's other people's opinion. But I'm going to perform at a high level and I'm excited to show everyone what I'm capable of."
