Jarvis Landry

North Rumors: Browns, Packers, Bears

The Browns plan to use Jarvis Landry, who ran 72.7% of his routes from the slot with Miami in 2017, as a part-time outside receiver during the upcoming season, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com writes. Landry will almost assuredly still move inside in three-wide sets, and given the NFL’s ever-expanding use of “11” personnel (one back, one tight end, three wideouts), Landry will still see plenty of time in the slot. But the Browns seem intent on using Landry in a slightly different fashion, as Cabot reports Cleveland will send Landry on deep routes in Todd Haley‘s offense.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two North divisions:

  • When asked whether Josh Gordon will play for the Browns in 2018, general manager John Dorsey said “Yeah, I would think, absolutely,” per Cabot (Twitter link). It’s difficult to parse the words of a team executive, and even more difficult when it comes to a player with a history of off-field issues, but Dorsey’s answer wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of Gordon. Gordon did not report for training camp, and while it’s not believed that he failed another drug test, he’s thought to be in a rehab facility. With Gordon’s status in question, Cleveland is considering an addition of veteran wideout Dez Bryant.
  • The Browns inserted offset language into Baker Mayfield‘s rookie contract, and fellow first-rounder Denzel Ward made the same concession, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. Ward, the fourth overall pick in the 2018 draft, likely didn’t have much of an argument after Mayfield — the No. 1 overall selection — accepted offset language in his deal. Players with offset language in their contracts who are cut before the end of their rookie deals have their remaining guaranteed money reduced by what they earn elsewhere.
  • The Packers placed both receiver Michael Clark and offensive lineman Cole Madison on the reserve/did not report list, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. While Madison is dealing with a personal matter and figures to report at some point, Clark is ending his NFL career, per Aaron Nagler of PackersNews.com (Twitter link). Clark signed with Green Bay as an undrafted free agent in 2017, and ultimately managed four receptions for 41 yards in two games. Madison, meanwhile, was selected out of Washington State in the fifth round of the 2018 draft.
  • Matt Nagy hired former Oregon Mark Helfrich as his offensive coordinator earlier this year, but the new Bears head coach had spoken with Helfrich in 2017, as Peter King of NBC Sports writes. When Nagy was the Chiefs’ OC last season, a fellow staff member advised him to call Helfrich, who immediately expressed interest in an NFL role were Nagy to land a head coaching job. Now, the two offensive minds are tasked with further developing quarterback Mitch Trubisky, while working in new weapons like Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, and Trey Burton.

Contract Details: Landry, Wallace, RG3

Here’s the latest from some the recently agreed-upon contracts around the NFL.

  • Jarvis Landry‘s five-year, $75.5MM Browns contract will come with $34MM fully guaranteed, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link). This figure, which is a tad less than Landry likely would have earned if he was franchise-tagged twice, places Landry fifth among wideouts. The $47MM in total guarantees are third all-time, behind only DeAndre Hopkins and Mike Evans.
  • Another wideout has a somewhat bizarre clause in his Eagles deal. The defending Super Bowl champions will pay Mike Wallace an additional $585K if he weighs less than 250 pounds when they open their offseason program on Monday, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Wallace signed a one-year deal with a base value of $1.9MM, so Monday — barring an alarming discovery — will presumably be a nice bonus for the veteran deep threat.
  • The only guaranteed money in Robert Griffin III‘s one-year, $1.1MM deal with the Ravens is a $100K signing bonus, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

Browns Sign Jarvis Landry To Extension

The Browns and wide receiver Jarvis Landry are close to finalizing a long-term deal, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. The new pact will give Landry an average annual value of more than $15MM per year.

Landry signed the contract on Friday night.

In total, the deal is worth $75.5MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. sources say. He adds that the deal includes a whopping $47MM guaranteed, but it’s unclear whether that represents the full guarantee at signing.

Originally, Landry was set to play out the 2018 season on his one-year, ~$16MM franchise tender. However, the Browns traded for Landry with the idea that they would hammer out a long-term deal with his camp. The Dolphins did not want to pay Landry like a top-flight receiver, but GM John Dorsey believes that he is deserving of a mega-deal even though he plays from the slot.

The monster pact should spell good news for Odell Beckham Jr. Between this contract and the mega-contract given to Bucs star Mike Evans, OBJ has favorable comps to make his case for a $90MM+ deal that would make him the league’s highest-paid receiver. Landry now boasts the fifth-highest average annual value of any wide receiver in the NFL. The only receivers with a higher AAV than Landry are Antonio Brown, Evans, DeAndre Hopkins, and Sammy Watkins.

Over the last four seasons, Landry hauled in 400 passes for 4,038 yards and 22 touchdowns for Miami. He finished the 2017 season with 987 receiving yards – nearly giving him a third straight 1,000-yard campaign – and had a career-high nine receiving touchdowns. However, critics are quick to point out that his yards per catch average dipped to a career low 8.8 per reception.

The Browns now possess a lethal 1-2 at wide receiver in Landry and Josh Gordon, which should give quarterback Tyrod Taylor a chance to shine. Former first round pick Corey Coleman is also in the mix and the Browns are hoping that he can take a step forward with a more talented QB throwing to him. Of course, the Browns are expected to take a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick, so it’s not a given that Taylor will be under center for the entire year.

Receiver Notes: Landry, Dez, A-Rob, Evans

No players have dominated the news more in the last two days than Jarvis Landry and Richard Sherman. On Friday, the Browns kicked off their trading spree by landing the Dolphins wideout in a deal for draft picks. Earlier in the day, Sherman was released from the Seahawks and then signed with the division-rival 49ers Saturday Night.

The two possibly could have been connected on the transaction wire earlier in the 2017 season if a blockbuster deal would have gone through. That’s according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, who tweets that Seattle rejected a potential Landry-for-Sherman swap in 2017.

At the time of the proposed deal, presumably before the trade deadline, Sherman was healthy and the Seahawks were looking to advance to the postseason for the sixth consecutive. Trading away a key member of the secondary and an influential figure in the locker room doesn’t appear to make much sense.

Regardless, it is interesting both teams were looking to move on from their respective stars as early as October.

Here’s more receivers making news:

  • Before both of those deals went down, Mike Evans grabbed headlines by signing a five-year deal with the Buccaneers worth $82.5 MM. Breaking down the details, CBS Sports’ Joel Corry tweets the Bucs will $5 MM of salary cap space in 2018 and he now takes up $18.25 MM of cap room.
  • During a chat with the Dallas Morning News on Friday, Matt Mosley said his gut feeling is that Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant will be back in 2018. He said that could change if the team lands a receiver in the first round. Alabama’s Calvin Ridley, among others, could be on the board when the Cowboys pick at No. 19.
  • Though they didn’t place the franchise tag on him, the Jaguars do in fact like Allen Robinson and would like to have him back at the right price, general manager Dave Caldwell told Pro Football Talk. “At some point in time, just like other free agents, we’ve walked away. We don’t want to do that with Allen because he’s ours. We’ll see. We have a lot of options on the table with that.”

Reaction To Browns Trades

In a span of less than two hours on Friday, the Browns completely retooled their offense and added a piece to their secondary by acquiring Jarvis Landry, Tyrod Taylor and Damarious Randall from the Dolphins, Bills and Packers respectively.

The flurry of moves drastically improves the teams offense and provides a veteran stopgap quarterback — assuming no longterm deal is made — that can bridge to the signal-caller the team is presumably going to tab with one of its two first-round picks.

Leaving Cleveland was 2017 second-round pick DeShone Kizer, who was sent to Green Bay in the Randall deal. The teams also agreed to swap fourth- and fifth-round picks in the upcoming draft. For Landry, the Browns only parted with a 2018 fourth-round pick (No. 123) and 2019 seventh-round selection. In the Taylor deal, Cleveland sent one of its third-round picks (No. 65) in exchange for the turnover-averse passer.

These deals can not be officially completed until Wednesday, the first day of the 2018 season.

Here’s more on Cleveland’s busy day:

  • The Browns do not have a long-term deal in place for Landry at the moment but both sides are interested, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson tweets. Jackson also notes (Twitter link) that Landry likes the situation in Cleveland and is excited to work with new offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
  • Sticking with Landry, the Ravens, Titans and Jets were all involved in talks for the receiver late this week before the Browns landed him, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. The Ravens were widely reported as suitors for the dynamic slot receiver, but both the Jets and Titans flew under the radar.
  • ESPN’s Pat McManamon believes the trade of Kizer and the acquisition of Taylor emphasizes the Browns believe in one of the quarterbacks in the upcoming draft. He writes the plan is for Taylor to hold the spot in 2018 and let the drafted passer take the role in 2019.
  • Several other teams were interested in adding Taylor, including the Cardinals and Broncos, the Buffalo News’ Vic Carucci reports (Twitter link). Both teams were not willing to meet the Browns’ offer of a third-round pick. Kent Somers of AZ Central Sports, however, hears that the Cardinals were not involved in talks for the quarterback (Twitter link).
  • Heavily linked with Cleveland due to his ties with head coach Hue Jackson, A.J. McCarron will have to find a new suitor. ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link) noted the obvious candidates — Arizona, Denver and now Buffalo — as potential landing spots for the former Alabama signal-caller.

Dolphins Trade WR Jarvis Landry To Browns

The Browns have acquired wide receiver Jarvis Landry from the Dolphins, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Miami will receive a fourth-round pick in 2018 (No. 123) and a seventh-round pick in 2019, the MMQB’s Albert Breer tweets.

The Dolphins used the franchise tag on Landry in February with the sole intent of trading him instead of losing him for nothing. The Dolphins did not want to give Landry a contract that would put him near the top of the wide receiver market, but the Browns apparently do not have reservations about giving him a monster deal.

For the time being, the Browns will assume Landry at the cost of his one-year placeholder, worth nearly $16MM. Presumably, terms of a long-term pact have already been hammered out between the two sides, and that deal should come with an average annual value of no less than $13MM per season. Landry, 25, was rumored to be seeking a $14MM annual salary and $30MM in guarantees during his talks with the ‘Fins.

The Bears and Ravens were also linked to Landry, but the Browns – who count wide receiver amongst their many positional needs this offseason – have stepped up to acquire the dangerous slot target. As of this writing, Landry is the highest-paid player on the roster for 2018.

Over the last four years, Landry has hauled in 400 passes for 4,038 yards and 22 touchdowns for Miami. Landry finished the 2017 season with 987 receiving yards, though his yards per catch average dipped to a career low 8.8 per catch. The Browns still have to figure out their quarterback situation, but they have a lethal 1-2 at wide receiver in Landry and Josh Gordon. Former first round pick Corey Coleman is also in the mix and the Browns are hoping that he can take a step forward with a more talented QB throwing to him.

[RELATED: Browns Depth Chart]

Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry Signs Franchise Tender

Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry signed his franchise tender on Thursday morning, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Landry is now under contract with the team for the 2018 season, but he’s unlikely to stay put for long. 

There was some dispute over whether Landry’s signature on the tender actually mattered. Popular thought was that Landry could not be dealt until he actually inked his one-year, $16MM+ tender. Meanwhile, Mike Florio of PFT reported that Landry has been trade eligible ever since “accepting” the tender, even without adding his signature.

In any case, we now know for certain that Landry can be moved and his signing of the tender could be a sign that a trade has been agreed upon. Where might he land? Several teams have interest in the slot receiver, but only a few of those clubs have the cap room to take him on and give him the long-term pact that he seeks. So far the Bears and Ravens have been linked to Landry. The Panthers, who could use some help at WR, reportedly are not among the clubs in the Landry chase.

Landry, 25, is thought to be seeking a $14MM annual salary and $30MM in guarantees on his next contract. Any team acquiring Landry will likely hammer out an extension with him before pulling the trigger on a trade.

AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Landry, Bills, Pats

Although Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry hasn’t formally signed his franchise tag, he has “accepted” the tender, which is an equal action in the eyes of the NFL, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Not only does that mean Miami cannot now rescind the tag, but Landry can be traded if the Dolphins find an acceptable deal. Landry, meanwhile, is sticking to his asking price of $14MM annually, but at least one of the clubs with interest in Landry believe he’s a $10MM/year player, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. Thus far, both the Bears and Ravens, two of the more receiver-needy teams in the league, have reportedly been linked to a Landry trade.

Here’s more from the the AFC East:

  • Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Tuesday, Bills free agent wide receiver Jordan Matthews said he expects Buffalo to gauge the wideout market before discussing a new deal with him, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Perhaps more interesting, Matthews claimed he received “bad diagnoses” on knee and ankle injuries he suffered as a member of the Eagles, but corrections were made following his trade to the Bills. Buffalo acquired Matthews from Philadelphia last August in exchange for cornerback Ronald Darby and a third-round pick, and Matthews went on to produce a disappointing 25 receptions in 10 games. The 25-year-old is currently PFR’s No. 7-ranked free agent pass-catcher.
  • The Dolphins are interested in Panthers free agent tight end Ed Dickson, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Dickson, 30, didn’t play a large receiving role during his first three years with Carolina, but an injury to starting tight end Greg Olsen allowed Dickson to play on 80% of Carolina’s offensive plays last season. While he wasn’t a world-beater, Dickson did manage 437 yards and a touchdown, solid numbers considering he’d managed just 370 receiving yards from 2014-16. Miami, who is expected to release tight end Julius Thomas, is the second team to be linked to Dickson, joining the Falcons.
  • Patriots free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler is one of the more intriguing players scheduled to hit the open market next week, leading Mike Reiss of ESPN.com to examine Butler’s earning potential. As Reiss writes, it’s not often a 28-year-old, full-time starter (with the exception of the Super Bowl, of course) reaches free agency, so Butler should be able to come close to $10MM annually on the open market. Butler, an up-and-down player throughout his career, ranked as the No. 51 CB among 121 qualifiers a season ago, per Pro Football Focus, while PFR recently listed Butler as the second-best available cornerback behind Trumaine Johnson.

Ravens Inquiring About Jarvis Landry

Count the Ravens among the teams now connected to Jarvis Landry. The franchise-tagged wideout has been given permission to facilitate a trade and will sign his franchise tender to do so, and another receiver-needy suitor has emerged.

The Ravens join the Bears and at least three other teams among those to have discussed a potential deal with Landry’s agent, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

No agreement is imminent, but the Ravens being involved signifies they’re inquiring about the successful slot target as a potential solution amid a receiving corps rebuild. Ozzie Newsome indicated in Indianapolis the team is looking at a rebuild of its wideout cadre.

Baltimore does not have a reliable young talent on its roster. Its Breshad Perriman investment has not worked out. Mike Wallace is also a free agent and will turn 32 before next season. Soon to be 30, Jeremy Maclin has one year remaining on his contract after a disappointing season.

Landry’s tag is expected to be worth $16.2MM, and the Bears — the team most linked to Landry thus far — have far more cap space than the Ravens at $63MM-plus. The Ravens’ cap situation is again unenviable. As of Sunday night, they stand to possess $9MM-plus in cap space and have among the least in the league.

Maclin could be cut to save $5MM, but $2.5MM in dead money would come with that move. A Brandon Carr cut has a $4MM-$3MM cap savings-dead money outcome, with an Austin Howard release saving $3MM but tagging the Baltimore cap with $2MM.

But Baltimore is inquiring and would presumably be ready for an extension to reduce Landry’s 2018 cap hit.

NFC Notes: Jerry Jones, Landry, Bruce Allen

Clarence E. Hill, Jr. of the Star-Telegram writes that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will testify before commissioner Roger Goodell and other owners at an appeal hearing tomorrow in Palm Beach, Florida. Jones is appealing the commissioner’s decision to assess him more than $2MM in legal fees stemming from the federal court case with Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott and Jones’ opposition to Goodell’s contract extension.

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk observes, the fact that Jones is testifying before Goodell means that Goodell has not exercised his right to designate the appeal to someone else, even though not doing so creates obvious conflict of interest concerns. In Florio’s estimation, Jones has strong arguments against fee-shifting for his threat to sue the league with respect to Goodell’s extension, as he never actually followed through with the threat. His arguments against fee-shifting with respect to the Elliott matter is a different story, as the Cowboys clearly provided substantial assistance to Elliott in his battle with the league.

Florio says Goodell has final and binding power to resolve the amount of legal fees to be paid, but the resolution granting him that power does not expressly grant him the authority to also answer the threshold question of whether club behavior triggered a repayment obligation. Goodell presumably will take the position that he has final say in that regard, too.

As the Goodell v. Jones saga drags on, let’s take a look at several more notes from the NFC:

  • Although the Bears have interest in Dolphins wideout Jarvis Landry, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune does not believe the team should trade for him. Biggs says Landry does not give Chicago the dynamic, speedy playmaker that it needs, and given that, it would cost too much in both dollars and draft capital to land him.
  • Although most mock drafts have the Lions selecting a RB or DE with their first-round draft pick, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com says the team could target an OLB like Virginia Tech’s Tremaine Edmunds to boost its pass rush. Rothstein says the Lions could indeed target a RB with its first draft choice, but it’s a deep class for RBs, and the better value might be found on Day 2.
  • John Keim of ESPN.com says it is unclear whether Redskins team president Bruce Allen is on the hot seat, though Keim believes he should be. Nonetheless, Keim thinks it would take a really bad season, and not just a mediocre one, for Allen to be shown the door.
  • Mike Jurecki of 98.7FM says the Cardinals would like to retain linebacker Josh Bynes as a depth option, but he believes the team will target a linebacker at some point in the draft and/or look to the UDFA market to grab an LB (Twitter link).
  • Earlier today, we took a look at potential QB plans for the Vikings and Giants.