Browns release five-time Pro Bowl WR Jarvis Landry
It was thought as far back as last summer that the 2021 NFL regular season could be the last that five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Jarvis Landry spent with the Cleveland Browns. The expectation at that time was he would become a salary-cap casualty before the start of the new league year this Wednesday.
That was before the Browns underperformed throughout the campaign, before star receiver Odell Beckham Jr., a close friend of Landry's, parted ways with the organization shortly after the November trade deadline, and before Cleveland agreed to acquire four-time Pro Bowl selection Amari Cooper from the Dallas Cowboys over the weekend.
The Browns reportedly gave Landry permission to seek a trade after landing Cooper, but Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk noted Monday afternoon the club is releasing the 29-year-old. NFL Media reports Landry requested the move, and he's since been linked with the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers.
The Packers are trying to come to terms on a deal with All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams, who reportedly won't play under the franchise tag later this year.
Landry spent his first four pro seasons with the Miami Dolphins before they traded him to Cleveland in 2018. This past campaign, he missed a handful of games due to injury issues and took to Twitter in February to claim he returned to action too quickly and wasn't physically right throughout the second half of the season. Nevertheless, he led the Browns with 52 catches and 87 targets and was second on the team with 570 receiving yards, according to ESPN stats. He also contributed two receiving touchdowns and two rushing scores across his 12 games.
This transaction saves the Browns $14.9 million in salary-cap space and costs them $1.5 million in dead money.
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