Jarvis Landry continues the trend of Browns receivers failing mightily

The Cleveland Browns traded for Jarvis Landry in 2018 to help change the culture. He showed up following a 1-31 stretch and instilled a new sense of discipline and urgency within the team. Going to the Pro Bowl in 2018 and 2019 proved that the Browns landed a talented player to help lead them into a new era.

Unfortunately, a long-term union is not happening as the team is releasing the receiver after a disappointing year in 2021. He battled through injuries and finished with 570 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games. Those are not the numbers of a number one receiver.

This marks two major departures from the wide receiver room since the start of last season. First up was Odell Beckham Jr., who demanded an in-season release, only to join the Los Angeles Rams and win a Super Bowl. Landry will now try to follow that trend as top contenders pursue him.

So why did both fail with the Browns? Was it on them, or were there other factors?

Dysfunction plagued Jarvis Landry and fellow skill players

Arizona Cardinals v Cleveland Browns

So much talk focuses on how quarterback Baker Mayfield had to deal with dysfunction and a rotating list of head coaches in such a short amount of time. The same is true for Landry and Beckham.

Specifically for the former, he played under Hue Jackson, Gregg Williams, Freddie Kitchens, and Kevin Stefanski. This all came in a span of just four seasons. So whatever role Landry had changed whenever he started to feel comfortable.

Surprisingly, his best days came before Stefanski came to town. He made his two Pro Bowls in 2018 and 2019 when the records were worse, but the offense was humming more with a confident and healthy Mayfield.

The health of the quarterback is another key point in why the entire offense was pitiful in 2021. So much blame was put on the receivers, yet Mayfield could not get them the ball.

Landry led the team in receptions with 52. Donovan Peoples-Jones was top in yards with 597. Those were the leaders for the entire season, not just a stretch of games. Mayfield was injured, and as a result, everyone around him had their values lowered.

That allows the Cleveland front office to say the receiver isn't worth a cap hit near or over $15 million. They can point to his stats and say he wasn't producing at a high level. Yet all this does is continue a cycle where the Browns struggle as a team and let their top talents leave.

Do receivers come to Cleveland destined to fail? That may be an overreaction, but the cases of Landry and Beckham sure don't point towards a bright future for Amari Cooper as he tries to buck this trend.

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