BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – When the Browns acquired Jarvis Landry from the Dolphins in March 2018, they were coming off a winless 0-16 season and a three-year stretch that saw the team set an NFL record by going 4-44.
Cleveland was thought to be where football careers go to die, but Landry embraced the challenge of turning the fallen on hard times franchise around with a smile on his face and he wasted no time setting the tone and re-setting expectations.
Saturday, Landry returns to Cleveland with the Saints and the reception is expected to be a warm one filled with hugs. His impact on the Browns remains contagious within the locker room in Berea.
“He had a huge impact,” cornerback Denzel Ward said. “I feel he's one of those guys that helped turn this organization around and brought a lot of wins to this organization. He's a leader on and off the field, made plays. Wish he was still here, but he is a great player, great person. He was a good guy.”
The Browns selected Ward, a Hudson, Ohio native, fourth overall that year in the NFL Draft out of Ohio State to join Landry as a cornerstone for the franchise.
“We all loved him,” running back Nick Chubb, who was picked in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, said.
Tight end David Njoku, a 2017 first-round pick who battled inexperience and inconsistency early in his career, has emerged as a reliable threat in the passing game and one of the best blockers at his position in the NFL.
He credits Landry for showing him the way and what it takes to be a professional.
“I think he had a huge impact,” Njoku said. “I think he was one of the main reasons we got this thing turned around along with obviously a few other players, but I gotta give credit to him for the majority of it because he had the mentality, the mindset of winning, of pushing through adversity and I feel like that rubbed on a bunch of players at the time when he was here with other players that were here that aren't here anymore. I think that rubbed off on everybody and we were just focused on pushing our limits.”
Landry’s most famous moment with the Browns came off the field during HBO’s Hard Knocks Training Camp with the Cleveland Browns in 2018 where he gave an impassioned speech to fellow receivers about the importance of practicing.
“Things needed to change around here and ever since then, things have changed,” Chubb said. “It’s a lot to do with what Jarvis did here.”
The speech went viral and set the tone for the Browns’ big turnaround.
“It blew up,” Ward said. “It was funny seeing that. It just showed the type of guy that he is and everybody was listening in on him and just feeding into everything that he's talked about.”
Ward battled Landry in practice daily and he remembered how hard Landry made him work.
“I mean, you couldn't take any days off with him,” Ward said. “You had to lock in. He gave you those game reps that you look for. So you look forward to going against a guy like that, get you ready for the game.”
Landry’s third season in Cleveland saw the Browns do the unthinkable – win 11 games in the regular season and end the league’s longest playoff drought of 18 years amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unfortunately, injuries that limited Landry to 12 games last year, and the business of football, led to the Browns releasing Landry in the offseason, which allowed him to return to Louisiana.
It pained Landry to miss a game because he was hurt. It was something head coach Kevin Stefanski respected.
“Just over the years talking about Jarvis, just what he brought into the building, into the locker room and gameday, I just always marveled at him pushing through injuries,” Stefanski said. “Sometimes wasn’t near 100 percent but fought through it, played, took a hit, got back up and just a very, very tough, physical football player.”
Landry made the Pro Bowl his first two seasons as a Brown. He started 56 of 58 games where he caught 288 passes for 3,560 yards and 15 touchdowns. He rushed for four more scores and when his career is over, he should be honored as a Browns legend.
In nine games and three starts for the Saints this season, Landry continues to battle through injury. He has 25 catches for 272 yards and a touchdown for New Orleans but Landry’s can-do, whatever it takes attitude remains contagious.
“I loved playing with him,” receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones said. “Just the competitor that he is, the dog that he is on the field. What he meant to me in my growth and development on the field and off the field. Like, I said, he was a role model, a leader, and that's Jarvis Landry.”