CLEVELAND -- New York Jets running back Isaiah Crowell has no shortage of motivation heading into tonight’s game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium.
After spending the first four years of his career with the Browns, Crowell was allowed to walk in free agency, where he joined the Jets and is the team’s leading rusher following the first two weeks of the 2018 regular season, and Cleveland’s defenders expect the fifth-year rusher to be plenty fired up.
“Hopefully, you are fired up to play a game in the NFL, especially coming back against a former team,” Browns linebacker Joe Schobert said earlier this week. “They will probably try to prove a point. Both sides know each other, so we will both be ready.
“Crow is definitely a fast and explosive runner. He has good balance. He can hit that one cut downhill, and if he gets that open space, he is hard to track and hard to bring down. Just have to make him stop his feet and not get a head of steam going.”
Prior to the start of training camp last season, Crowell chose to sign a one-year restricted free-agent tender and not miss time while seeking a new contract with the Browns.
Despite a limited workload during the 2017 season when Coach Hue Jackson switched to a pass-heavy diet of play-calling, Crowell still ran for 853 yards and two touchdowns on 206 carries. Crowell averaged 4.1 yards per carry during his final season with the Browns.
In 2016, Crowell rushed for 952 yards and seven touchdowns on 198 carries over 16 games for a Browns team that saw six players take snaps at quarterback because of injuries and ineffective play. Also, Crowell caught 40 passes for 319 yards and 14 first downs.
An undrafted free agent out of Alabama State University, Crowell’s 2016 rushing yards, carries and catches, as well as rushing and receiving first downs were single-season career highs.
“We really like him,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said in a conference call with the Cleveland media. “We liked him when he came in here. He is tough minded. He is another grinder that just works around football. He runs the ball well. He blocks and he catches well. He is somebody that we really like.”
In four years with the Browns, Crowell rushed for 3,118 yards and 21 touchdowns on 737 carries with 151 runs going for first downs, 23 eclipsing the 20-yard mark and six that went for at least 40 yards. Crowell fumbled just six times on those 737 carries with the Browns, and three of those miscues came during his rookie season.
Additionally, Crowell caught 96 passes out of the backfield for 770 yards and one touchdown with six 20-yard gains, two 40-yard jaunts and 33 first-down conversions.
“He is a pro,” Jackson said.
“Crowell is a good back. Obviously, he is averaging over six yards a carry right now. He has done some good things for them. He brings quickness, suddenness and speed. I think he is a tough, competitive person and a competitive player. We have to tackle him on Thursday night. They are going to give it to him, that is for sure.”
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