The Cleveland Browns have a decision to make regarding WR Jarvis Landry. A year removed from hoping that the return of Odell Beckham Jr., the development of Donovan Peoples-Jones and the addition of Anthony Schwartz’s speed would complement Landry perfectly, everything is up in the air at wide receiver.
Landry is going into the last year of his contract and would count a hefty sum against the salary cap for the Browns. The team could save significant money by cutting him but would lose a dependable receiver at an already weak position.
Tuesday, Landry stoked the flames with his comments on Twitter. He also shared injury-related issues that were more than publicly known last year.
While many have speculated as to Landry’s motives, it is possible he learned a lesson about how Cleveland could handle him last year. In the 2021 offseason, Sheldon Richardson was in a similar situation as Landry is this year. Richardson had one season left on his contract but the Browns could move on from him to save significant cap space.
With free agency opening in mid-March, Cleveland added a number of players to their roster but kept Richardson. It wasn’t until a month later, shortly after signing Jadeveon Clowney, that the team released the defensive tackle and saved over $10 million in cap space.
While the Browns tried to bring Richardson back, he chose to return to Minnesota on a one-year, $3.6 million deal. Had Cleveland released him prior to the start of free agency, it is possible that Richardson could have gotten a deal closer to Larry Ogunjobi ($6.2 million) or Davon Godchaux (2 years, $15 million).
As Landry looks at the landscape of free agency, perhaps his motives are to try to force the Browns hand to make a decision sooner rather than later. If Landry is set free, as Dante Fowler was recently, he’d be free to sign with another team before any pure free-agent receivers could. Even if Cleveland waits until free agency opens, Landry’s options and contract would be greater than if they wait as they did with Richardson.
With the NFL Combine just around the corner, Landry may be pushing the Browns to make a decision quickly. If so, he learned a valuable lesson from Richardson’s situation in 2021.