Browns' Juan Thornhill's motivations: Newborn daughter, atoning for injury-plagued 2023

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. — Juan Thornhill didn't think he needed any more motivation. That was until his daughter Aspen was born.

"I've always been a person that was very motivated in life," the Browns safety told the Beacon Journal in an exclusive interview Thursday. "Don't really need anybody to really push me. I can push myself. But I definitely could say me having my daughter has changed me big time. Everything that, like I said, I do is for her, and I think twice about everything that I do because one little mistake can cause some type of problems with her or something like that. So everything that I do, like I said, is for her."

Aspen was born nine weeks ago, the first child for Thornhill and his wife, Reagan. Mother and baby daughter have been regular attendees during Browns training camp at The Greenbrier.

Thornhill did admit to "going through it a little bit right now." He said their newborn daughter is struggling to eat, but in the very next breath added, "I think we'll find a way to get through that."

"Everything is going great," he said. "I love being a dad. It's truly amazing."

That kind of positivity has been a hallmark of Thornhill's personality. That's why the places he found himself during last season, his first in Cleveland, were so antithetical.

The normally talkative and smiling 28-year-old was anything but as the Browns went through a 11-6 season that resulted in just their third playoff appearance since coming back into the league in 1999. That's because, while his teammates were enjoying the ride, Thornhill was struggling to stay on the field due to a nagging calf injury that cost him six games.

For a player who arrived in Cleveland in March 2023 bubbling over with positivity, by December that positivity had turned to a darkness.

"No, it definitely got that bad, with me," Thornhill admitted. "I'm very competitive, so I tried to do everything possible to get back on that field, and it seemed like I was always injured, but that wasn't the case. It was just that I could never get over that one injury that I had."

That "one injury" originally occurred during the Browns' Week 10 win at the Baltimore Ravens. Thornhill planted his leg at one point in the game and "pushed off of it and I felt my calf pop. I literally felt the pop and I was like, 'There's no way I'm going back in this game. It hurts too bad.'"

The problem for Thornhill was that the best remedy for a calf injury like the one he had wasn't to go back into the game, that one or any other one. However, after missing the following week's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, he tried to give it a go in back-to-back games against Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams.

The tipping point came in Week 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars when he tried to warm up but couldn't play. He sat out that game, then was inactive the next two weeks after that as well.

"It never had the chance to heal," Thornhill said. "I had a grade-two strain, and with those — you can look it up — it takes more than a week, two weeks to heal, and I never had that much time to really just sit down and let it heal. But, yeah, I just feel like everything this season is more about health, being available for my teammates."

There's a question, though, about who's available for the positive person who's in desperate need for some positivity? That's exactly where Thornhill was as the Browns were finishing off their push for the playoffs.

The problem for Thornhill at that moment was twofold. It wasn't just the physical pain in his calf, but also the mental and emotional pain he felt as he sat in the valley of depression while the rest of his teammates were on the crest of joy.

"I was in a low place last year, thinking you can go out there and play it and all of a sudden you have another setback over and over and over again," Thornhill said. "You get into a dark place where it was so dark that it got to the point, I wanted to go to the Super Bowl. Obviously that's just me, but at the same time I'm like, gosh, I'm ready for this season to be over so I can finally let my body heal.

"It's not saying that I wanted to lose. That's not the case — I wanted to go to the Super Bowl, play in the Super Bowl — but I also wanted to have time for my calf to heal."

That's exactly what Thornhill did once the Browns' season ended with the AFC wild card loss at the Houston Texans. He said he "didn't do anything for a month" in order to let the calf heal.

Beyond that, Thornhill also tried to block out the noise from the outside. He deleted his X account, which he had used the previous year as a beacon of positivity.

What that's produced is a Thornhill focused on getting back to producing the way he did for most of his first four seasons in the league when he was part of two Kansas City Chiefs teams that won Super Bowls.

“I think his mindset, his focus in the offseason has definitely spilled out to this point," Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda said Tuesday. "So his mindset, the chip on his shoulder, the attack, the intent and the fire in his eyes is there. So I think he’s locked in and focused and ready to really make sure that this is his best season of his career, and that’s what he’s looking to do right now.”

The "old" Thornhill from before last season appears to be back this training camp. The evidence is primarily there from the way he's almost constantly chirping to teammates — offensive or defensive — throughout practice, elevating the energy.

All of that is driven by a motivation to get back to the Super Bowl, only this time with the Browns. Although, this time around, there's the added motivation provided by his 9-week-old daughter.

"I mean, it just makes me want to play, practice and work harder each and every day," Thornhill said. "I'm no longer doing it for myself. I have a whole other purpose. Everything that I do out here is for my daughter. She's relying on me to be that provider for her, so I'm going to do everything possible to give her the best life. So I'm going to work harder each and every day on this field so she can live her best life."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns' Juan Thornhill's motivations: Newborn daughter, atoning for injury-plagued 2023