Getty Images Browns WR Jarvis Landry.
The Cleveland Browns designated Jarvis Landry for return from injured reserve on Friday, a sign that the veteran receiver could be on the field on Sunday against the Cardinals.
Landry suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament against the Houston Texans in Week 2. He had six catches for 80 yards before going down with the injury.
Landry did some light running on the side at practice on Thursday and the team officially announced he would be coming off IR on Friday. The team is still uncertain that he’ll be a go on Sunday, but doing some work in practice is a good sign.
“Medically, I am not sure where he is. Hope so,” Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said on Thursday. “Can’t wait to get him back whenever that is because he is a big part of our offense and a huge leader for us.”
The games missed were the first missed game of Landry’s career due to injury. He missed one contest last year but it was due to COVID-19.
Every Time I put this brace on somebody gon have to pay for it in the near future 👿👿👿 #Offline
“Fortunately, I’m out of the brace, but [there] was a period where I had to put it on to walk, I had to put it on to go up and down the stairs,” Landry told the Akron Beacon-Journal. “Then on game day, I took it off because I was trying to be the little solider on the field so nobody saw me with it on. It’s frustrating.”
Landry Taking Return in Stride, Not Rushing Back
Landry wants to come back as soon as possible for the Browns but is going to take it slow, making sure he doesn’t reinjure himself.
“We’ve got three home games this next little turn, so it will be a perfect time somewhere in there if I can get back,” Landry said. “At the end of the day, the team and myself and my camp, we’re smart about the decisions about coming back or not and when that will be.”
That’s a similar approach to what Odell Beckham Jr. had this offseason when returning from a torn ACL. He sat out the first two weeks, meaning he and Landry have not been on the field at the same time this season.
“At this point, we’re just running our race,” Beckham said on July 25. “I feel like in the past, I’ve been caught up in this question. I’m not really here for it anymore. Whenever I’m ready to get out on the field, that’s when it will be. Whenever the team, the docs, my team, gets cleared, we’ll be ready to go. Whenever that is, Week 1, Week 17, I don’t know. Whenever we’re ready, we’ll be ready.”
Odell Beckham Hungry for More Targets
Beckham has just nine catches for 124 yards and no touchdowns since rejoining the lineup in Week 3. Beckham is coming off a torn ACL but still demands attention from defenses, often leading to opponents rolling the defense his way. That has led to just 19 targets over three games, which hit a low against the Chargers with three.
He’s said all the right things but admitted he wants to get more looks because he’s a “shooter.”
“I cannot sit here and lie like, ‘I do not want the ball.’ Like I tell you every time I get up here, they do not pay James Harden for defense, you know what I mean? He is a shooter. I feel like I am a shooter,” Beckham told reporters. “As I get down in the red zone and I am running a corner route and three people come with me and Higgy (WR Rashard Higgins) is wide open, I have to know that happens. I know that I bring a lot of attention to defenses on the other end, and other people are going to be open. You just have to live with that.”
Beckham and Baker Mayfield will have another chance to put up some numbers on Sunday against the Cardinals. Having Landry on the field as another lethal option will only optimize Beckham’s ability to get open.
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Browns Move Hints at Star’s Return to Field