USAT: Browns Wire audio clip

USAT: Browns Wire

Feb 23, 2022

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. - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Browns Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Browns Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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