Juan Thornhill knows more than most that it’s hard to live down one moment in your life, especially on television. Despite a successful career in Kansas City, he found that moment last year in Cleveland. Already struggling through injury, he let fatigue set in on a play that earned him the nickname “Jog Thornhill.”
That moment came in Week 11 during the 2024 season, when the Browns were in New Orleans. On 3rd and 1, Derek Carr threw behind Juan Thornhill covering Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who raced to the end zone for a 71-yard touchdown. Thornhill, however, did not race, but rather jog, in pursuit.
That moment went viral, at least in Cleveland circles, and he never lived it down.
“It did bother me, if I’m being completely honest with you,” Thornhill said recently via Pittsburgh’s DSEN. “The reason why is because that’s not me as a player. And they saw that one clip of me and they put that as a title on me as a player that doesn’t play hard for his team. But yeah, it was one clip.”
Thornhill had already missed a block of five games earlier that season due to a Grade 2 calf strain. The Saints game marked his fifth game back, but he was no longer playing starter snaps. And he did rebound the following week, making plays in a win against the Steelers. After that game, he admitted that he didn’t give full effort on the play, but insisted that’s not him.
“I was exhausted. I mean, players get tired,” Thornhill told Steelers media this past week. “If you play a long series and you’re constantly running all the time, you’re gonna get tired. And it got caught on camera and it looked like I was jogging. I wasn’t trying to jog. I was trying to run.”
It’s hard to live down once it’s out there.
Now, for what it’s worth, that was the third play of the drive in question, and the Saints’ previous drive lasted just one play, resulting in an interception by Denzel Ward. New Orleans did have a 12-play drive just before that, though, and the Browns’ possessions in between were short. Even allowing himself some grace, though, Thornhill understands his failure on that play. He just wants people to understand he is more than one play.
“When people started calling me Jog Thornhill and everything, I just ignore that,” he said. “If you go watch, I make a lot of plays.
“I’m always gonna play hard. I do whatever’s best for the team,” he added.
Juan Thornhill spent his first four seasons in Kansas City as a second-round pick. He started 52 of 65 games, registering 234 tackles with eight interceptions. The Browns signed him to a three-year, $21 million contract in 2023, including $14 million guaranteed.
But they saw enough after two disappointing seasons plagued by injury. In his two seasons with the Browns, Thornhill missed 12 games combined. That’s why the Steelers were able to sign him for just $3 million this offseason. And while he won’t come in as a starter, he wants to prove he’s worth much more than that. And maybe he has a little something to prove to the Browns twice a year, too.
