Getty Images Browns receiver Jarvis Landry.
The Cleveland Browns addressed the future of Jarvis Landry on Tuesday after the veteran pass-catcher fired off a series of poignant tweets about his situation with the team.
Andrew Berry was asked about Landry’s status and the statement from the Browns general manager sounded very much like a goodbye to a player who became a fan-favorite during his three seasons in Cleveland.
“Jarvis, he’s been a productive player for us the past four years, a big part of helping us turn the tide, and everything like that,” Berry said from Indianapolis, the site of the year’s NFL Combine. “You know, the next couple weeks are big for us in terms of assessing the entirety of the roster. But Jarvis has been a key veteran for us, a key producer, and we’re really grateful for all that.”
Berry is traditionally very tight-lipped about contract situations and failed to go into any more detail.
“I’m not going to any of our specific planning or anything along those lines. But Jarvis has been a key veteran for us for a number of years,” Berry told reporters.
Landry Tweeted That Ball Was in Cleveland’s Court
Landry took it upon himself to tweet about his future late last month, sounding disgruntled about his situation. Landry took particular issue with the narrative that he’s injury-prone, considering he started every game during his first six seasons in the league. It wasn’t until this past season that he missed significant time, sitting out with a knee injury he said he came back early from.
“Reality behind all this is I came back to play in the best shape of my life, I got hurt week 2 with a high grade MCL sprain, partial quad tear and bone bruise. Then came back way to early and ended up staying hurt the entire season. You never heard me mention anything about it,” Landry tweeted on February 22. “Before this year I missed 0 games. So push y’all narrative, it’s noted.”
1/2 Reality behind all this is I came back to play in the best shape of my life, I got hurt week 2 with a high grade MCL Sprain,Partial quad tear and bone bruise. Then came back way to early and ended up staying hurt the entire season. You never heard me mention anything about it
Landry also sounded off on the fact that he did not speak to the media for the majority of the season, his final team-organized press conference coming in October. Landry blamed injuries and a hectic rehab schedule for the absence.
“My media availability didn’t happen because I was focused on getting on the field as healthy as possible during the week and after games,” Landry wrote. “Strategic plan was set in place to be followed. I put the ball in CLE court by telling them I would like to stay but if not then I’m confident enough in myself to be a better healthy me this year and moving forward to helping do my part in winning a championship elsewhere.”
Landry Likely Cap Casualty This Season
Landry was very much getting ahead of the story with the tweets, considering that without a restricting of his contract he seems like a longshot to return to the Browns.
Landry will turn 30 next season and carries a salary of more than $15 million. He has no guaranteed money left on his deal and Cleveland would save $14.8 million against the cap by trading or cutting Landry.
The Browns and Landry’s representation are expected to meet up at the combine and discuss his future. A possibility for Landry is that he could be granted more guaranteed money for a smaller overall number, resulting in a smaller cap hit — like what tackle Jack Conklin recently did.