Getty Wide receiver Jarvis Landry #80 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates after the Browns defeated the Denver Broncos at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 21, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry is hunting a new contract, though his expectations are so exorbitant they could make a return to Cleveland impossible.
Landry signed a five-year contract extension with the Browns in 2018 worth $75.5 million. His cap hit was set to cost Cleveland more than $16 million in 2022, which led the team to release the wideout before the final year of his deal. In the days since, the Browns have become Super Bowl contenders on the strength of a spending spree, adding QB Deshaun Watson and WR Amari Cooper via trade. Multiple reports indicate there is mutual interest between Landry and the team in returning him to the roster, but the price Pro Football Network’s Mike Florio says he’s looking for would make the reunion all but impossible.
“Landry, we’re told, had hoped to get a contract in the range of $20 million per year,” Florio wrote on Saturday, March 26. “Nearly two weeks into free agency, it won’t be easy to find that kind of money.”
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NFL Analyst Predicts Landry’s Contract Will Fall Short of Demands
GettyWide receiver Jarvis Landry, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, makes a 25-yard reception against free safety Lamarcus Joyner of the Las Vegas Raiders during a game at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 1, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Florio added that the market ultimately will not bear out the kind of money for Landry that he desires. The former Miami Dolphins and Browns wide receiver has earned more than $64 million during his eight-year NFL career, per Spotrac, and just watched his good friend and recent teammate Odell Beckham Jr. capture a championship ring with the Los Angeles Rams.
Once Landry realizes the futility of pushing for more money than he was previously making after coming off an injury-riddled and career-worst season in 2021, the Browns and other legitimate title contenders should come back into play as potential landing spots.
Florio laid out the scenario Saturday as he sees it:
This feels like one of those situations that will conclude with a deal that includes bloated back-end numbers that get to a [desired] annual average, and that the real contract will be something much shorter in duration and much lower in value.
Landry can still play at a high level. But with so many great receivers entering the NFL every year, it becomes harder and harder for pass catchers to break the bank. Only the very best of the very best veteran receivers (like Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams) will make huge money. For the rest, it will become harder and harder to realize a major payday.
Pro Football Talk’s report also noted that Landry has fired former agent Damarius Bilbo of Klutch Sports and has hired Roosevelt Barnes and Jovan Barnes to represent his interests moving forward.
Playing With Watson, Reuniting With Beckham Could Push Landry to Cleveland
GettyOdell Beckham Jr. #13 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates with Jarvis Landry #80 after Landry caught a 7-yard touchdown pass against the Miami Dolphins at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 24, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
There are two other reasons beyond the possibility of a Super Bowl ring that might drive Landry back into Cleveland’s arms. The first is that Watson recruited Landry this offseason to play together with the Atlanta Falcons before the Browns came in with a massive five-year, $230 million offer the quarterback simply couldn’t refuse, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The second is that Beckham, fresh off an ACL tear in the Rams’ title game, may also be returning to Cleveland. Landry and Beckham were teammates with the Browns for two and a half years before Beckham forced his way out of town during the middle of last season. However, with Baker Mayfield out at quarterback and one of the NFL’s top signal callers in Watson replacing him, Beckham’s opinion may have changed as it regards a return to Cleveland.
Browns safety John Johnson III took to Instagram Live last week and declared Beckham was coming back. Beckham’s true intentions remain unknown and his timeline for return places him back on the field at some point during the middle of the 2022 regular season.
It could be a while before Beckham’s or Landry’s plans are known, but if one jumps at a reunion with the Browns, the chances that the other follows suit increase significantly.