Cleveland Browns will do ‘everything they can’ to keep OBJ, Landry long-term

The Cleveland Browns have a dynamic duo at wide receiver with Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, but it will be hard to keep both long-term.

The Cleveland Browns have built a dynamic offense by surrounding quarterback Baker Mayfield with several weapons, most notably Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.

The duo will make life difficult for opposing defenses, as they both can make difficult plays all over the field. And with Beckham stretching the field vertically and Landry excelling in the middle of the field, it will be tough to game plan to slow down Cleveland’s passing attack.

Beckham and Landry are two of the best wide receivers in the league, and they are paid as such. Beckham is the league’s highest paid receiver with an average annual salary of $18 million. Landry is the 14th highest paid with a $15.1 million average annual salary.

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The Browns are currently able to fit both into their salary cap, as well as several other key players, because many of their top players remain on their rookie deals. But with most of those players coming off their rookie deals in the near future, as well Mayfield, Myles Garrett, and Denzel Ward expected to be paid at the top of their positions, Cleveland will be extremely tight in cap space.

Since Beckham and Landry are two of the highest paid Browns, there is a chance the Browns will have to make decisions about their contracts in order to fit in the extensions for Mayfield, Garrett and Ward.

One of the potential options to clear cap space for the future is to release Jarvis Landry before the 2020 season. Landry has a potential out in his contract at that time and would only carry a $4.5 million dead cap in 2020.

When the Browns traded for Landry and signed him to his massive five-year extension, Cleveland was hoping his addition would signal the culture change the organization was hoping to accomplish. And to Landry’s credit, he played a large role in helping change the culture and making the Browns into a team players want to play for.

However, although the Browns may have overpaid for Landry and this would be a way for the organization to get out from his contract, they may view Landry as a part of the long-term future. And according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns plan on doing “everything they can” to keep Beckham and Landry together in Cleveland for the long-term future.

"The Browns can also restructure their highest contracts to stay under the cap. They’ve already begun planning for their big paydays to Garrett, Mayfield and Ward, and will do everything they can to keep their two former LSU Tigers here. If they continue to produce on the field, the Browns will undoubtedly take care of them off of it. – Cabot, Cleveland.com"

Because the Browns want Beckham on the roster for as long as possible, it would make a lot of sense to keep his best friend on the roster as well. So instead of cutting Landry, restructuring his contract seems like the more likely option. And since his best friend is also on the roster, Landry will likely do whatever to stay with the Browns.

It is not often teams have a duo with the talent of Beckham and Landry at the same time, so the Browns should do whatever they can to keep the duo together for the long-term. It may take some creativity, but it certainly should be something the front office and organization try to get done.