Jarvis Landry started the culture change in Cleveland

The Cleveland Browns culture began to change Jarvis Landry joined

The Cleveland Browns are headed to Kansas City in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs after a convincing victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, in Pittsburgh during wild card weekend. The culture in Cleveland is changing and there are a lot of people who deserve credit for that, but one player, in particular, got that change started — Jarvis Landry.

The Browns traded a fourth and seventh-round draft pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Landry during the 2018 offseason. Landry was coming off a year in which he led the NFL in receptions with 112. Miami elected to not sign him long-term, and instead, franchise-tagged him before making the trade. Former Browns general manager John Dorsey inked Landry to a five-year, $75 million contract right after landing the wideout.

Landry’s agent presented him with two possible teams to be dealt to; the Browns and the Baltimore Ravens. Landry chose Cleveland due to then-head coach Hue Jackson’s offensive style as opposed to the Ravens who were a more run-heavy team.

When talking to ESPN.com, Landry said he felt then Dolphins head coach, Adam Gase, sent him to Cleveland to “die.”

“I felt like, for some reason, Adam sent me here to die,” Landry said of the trade.

This comment stemmed from a joke made by Gase to his former Dolphins players that if they were to get in his doghouse, he would ship them to Cleveland.

When the trade was announced, Landry sent out a tweet about being excited to start the next chapter in his life. He promised things were about to get serious, and that they have.

The Browns fan base needed some sort of excitement following the 2017 season in which the team went 0-16. From 2014-17, the Brown won just 11 games.

That infamous season led the Browns to select quarterback Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 overall pick out of Oklahoma. More on the connection the duo made later on.

The Browns were selected to appear on HBO’s Hard Knocks series that summer. During one of the episodes, Landry’s passion for the game and his new team was shown in full force with a speech that was filled with multiple expletives. The speech talked about how his fellow wide receivers need to practice unless they are hurt. He talked about how sitting out when not hurt is contagious and that isn’t how the Browns would operate moving forward.

Landry is the type of player who wears his heart on his sleeve and gives you everything he’s got, whether it be in practice, in the film room, or in a game. He will play injured if he feels he can still contribute to the team’s success. In fact, he missed the first game of this career during the Week 16 loss to the New York Jets due to COVID-19, close contact/high-risk protocol. He was none too pleased about having to miss his first pro game.

That is the type of player that fans gravitate to, and the Cleveland fans have done just that.

Landry was thrilled a year later when the Browns acquired his best friend and former LSU teammate, fellow wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr. The best friends were reunited on the field yet again.

In his three seasons with the Browns, Landry has been quite productive. He and Mayfield have developed great chemistry and Mayfield often looks to him for a big reception when needed, especially on third down.

For the 2020 campaign, Landry had somewhat of a down year, catching 72 passes for 840 yards, and three touchdowns. However, he was able to make big plays throughout the season, including launching a 37-yard bomb to Beckham in the Week 4 matchup in Dallas.

By the way, he’s 4-4 for 74 yards and the touchdown as a passer this season. Landry has been good in the blocking game, which has set the likes of running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in prime positions to streak down the sideline.

The Browns have had great success this season and the culture has changed in The Land, and a huge contributing factor to that is Landry.