Cleveland Browns: Jarvis Landry extended, good move?
By Randy Gurzi
The Cleveland Browns and wide receiver Jarvis Landry reportedly agree to a five-year extension, but is it a good move for the team?
This offseason has seen the Cleveland Browns make a lot of moves. The most high-profile move was easily the trade to pick up slot receiver Jarvis Landry.
While Landry led the NFL in receptions in 2018 with 112, he averaged just 8.8 yards per reception and had 987 yards — which is very low when considering the volume of receptions.
A lot of the debate centered around that topic with some lamenting the short routes run by Landry and others praising his incredibly high catch rate.
Those debates will continue as Landry and the Browns are reportedly closing in on a five-year extension classified as a crazy deal by NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.
The #Browns and WR Jarvis Landry are going to agree to terms on a 5-year, $75.5M extension, sources say. He gets $47M guaranteed… crazy for those who considered him a slot receiver.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 12, 2018
While it can’t be argued that Landry is an effective weapon, Rapoport is right that the deal is crazy. Landry doesn’t stretch the field and teams don’t really have to game plan to stop him.
One argument in favor of the deal however is his importance to the quarterback. Tyrod Taylor will start in 2018 with a new offense and a rookie could be taking over in 2019. Either player would benefit from being able to dump it off to the sure-handed Landry.
That being said, Cleveland may have been better off letting him play out his one-year deal before inking the huge deal. Because let’s be honest, no matter how sure handed he is, people will turn on him if he can only come up with five yards consistently on third-and-seven, because that was a common occurrence while he was in Miami.
On top of that, general manager John Dorsey will have to come up with a lot of money in the future for all the young players being drafted. His predecessor was destroyed while trying to create a ton of space and picks. Dorsey has a ton of space to work with now, but throwing money around can come back to haunt him fast.
Next: Browns draft profile: Mike McGlinchey
All this will be a moot point though should the Browns find ways to get Landry the ball downfield more often and make him a more complete receiver.