Fan favorite Landry cut to save cap space

The move that was inevitable the instant the Browns agreed to acquire wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Cowboys is now official: The Jarvis Landry era in Cleveland has ended.

The Browns on March 14 released Landry, who in four seasons in an orange helmet caught 288 passes for 3,580 yards and 15 touchdowns. He caught 400 passes for 4,038 yards and 22 touchdowns in four seasons with Miami before former Browns general manager John Dorsey acquired him from the Dolphins in March of 2018 for a fourth-round and seventh-round draft pick.

It isn’t that the Browns wanted to dump Landry, a team leader not only among the other wide receivers but for the entire team. He was also very popular among fans and active in the Northeast Ohio community.

The decision came down to allocating money to keep the Browns under the salary cap. Cooper’s $20 million 2022 contract becomes fully guaranteed on March 20. The Browns would have taken a salary cap hit of $16.379 million had they kept Landry with his 2022 $14.3 million salary. Releasing him saves the Browns $15 million on their 2022 cap.

“The trade for Jarvis Landry in 2018 was a key moment for our organization,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said in a statement. “Jarvis’ on-field production and fiery competitiveness speaks for itself, but his leadership and team-oriented attitude impacted our culture in a way that will last in time even beyond his release.

“These decisions are always difficult, but we wish Jarvis well and we look forward to the day when he returns as a storied Browns alumnus.”

The Browns gave Landry permission to seek a trade after agreeing to acquire Cooper (the Cooper trade doesn’t become official until 4 p.m. March 16), but he didn’t find a team willing to take on his contract.

Landry should be in high demand. The Packers, Falcons, Colts, Chiefs, Raiders, Patriots and Dolphins are among teams looking to upgrade wide receiver.

The Browns would have retained Landry if the two sides could have agreed on a restructured contract, but that did not happen.

Adding Cooper and subtracting Landry from the roster means the Browns still need to upgrade wide receiver, only now it isn’t the priority it was before the Cooper trade. Now the Browns could use their first draft pick next month, pick 13 overall, on an edge rusher if they don’t sign one in free agency.

Jadeveon Clowney and Takk McKinley are defensive ends that were on oneyear contracts with the Browns in 2021. They are free to negotiate with other teams during the legal tampering period that began at midnight March 14.

If free agents across the league haven’t signed extensions with their current team by now, the chances of them re-signing after free agency begins is slim.