CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns may soon welcome two of their Pro Bowl players back into the fold in receiver Jarvis Landry and defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.
On Saturday, they restructured the contract of receiver Amari Cooper to clear about $15 million in cap space, which gives them more room to try to re-sign Landry, a five-time Pro Bowler, and Clowney, a three-time Pro Bowler, league sources told cleveland.com.
The Browns, who are going all in to try to win a Super Bowl this season, would love to have both players back, and it’s much more likely now.
The Browns parted ways with Landry last week to save about $15 million on the salary cap after granting him permission to seek a trade. But Landry wanted nothing more than to win a Super Bowl here, and he’s motivated to return now that Deshaun Watson and Cooper are here and the Browns have a bona fide chance.
Clowney, who played with Watson in Houston, is also more likely to return now that his old teammate is on board and the Browns are instant Super Bowl contenders.
The Browns have been talking to the agents of both players, and will try to get deals done with them before long. They recognize, however, that Clowney operates on his own timeframe, and that he’ll sign when he’s ready.
The Browns converted most of Cooper’s $20 million salary to a signing bonus and added two voidable years, saving them $15 million on the 2022 cap.
Watson’s cap number for this season is only about $10 million — despite his five-year deal worth a record $230 million fully guaranteed — meaning the two new offensive hotshots will count only combined $15 million on the cap.
It enables the Browns to keep adding pieces around them in an effort to try to hoist the Lombardi Trophy this season.
If Landry returns, Watson will have him, Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Anthony Schwartz in the receiver room. The Browns will also likely draft a receiver with one of their five picks in Rounds 2-4 of the draft. It’s a strong receiver class, and they can get a starter in the second round. They can also use some of their picks to trade up and land a better prospect.
The Browns never wanted to part ways with Landry, 29, but his $16.379 cap hit made him cost prohibitive. Buttoning his lip throughout most of the stressful 2021 season, Landry cut loose on Twitter on Feb. 22 when it became apparent the Browns might let him go.
Landry: I gave everything
“Reality behind all this is I came back to play in the best shape of my life, I got hurt week 2 with a high grade MCL Sprain, Partial quad tear and bone bruise,” he said in a series of tweets posted to his account on Tuesday morning. “Then came back way to early and ended up staying hurting the entire season. You never heard me mention anything about it.”
Landry decline to conduct an official interview after his close friend Odell Beckham Jr. was released on Nov. 5 in the wake of his father, Odell Beckham Sr., sharing the “Odell Beckham Jr. is always Open” video on his social media.
His only media appearance after that came during his Thanksgiving Food Giveaway in Parma on Nov. 16, during which he noted, among other things, that his production was tied to not getting many opportunities and not the fact that he was knocking off the rust from his injury. He also made it clear that the receivers were doing the best they could with Baker Mayfield, who was playing with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
“Also my media availability didn’t happen because I was focused on getting on the field as healthy as possible during the week and after games.. a strategic plan was set in place to be followed. I put the ball in CLE court by telling them I would like to stay but if not then.”
He stressed that he wants to be back with the Browns for a fifth season, but that he understands the reality of the business. Turning 30 in November, he has a cap hit for 2022 of $16.379 million, and his dead money is only $1.5 million if the Browns release him.
“I have put the ball in CLE court by telling them I would like to stay but if not then I’m confident enough in myself to be a better healthy me this year and moving forward to helping do my part in winning a championship elsewhere.”
He also tweeted, “Before this year I missed 0 games. So push y’all narrative, it’s noted.”
He punctuated those four tweets with “I GAVE EVERYTHING!!!! EVERYTHING.”
With Mayfield struggling most of the season after tearing his labrum in Week 2, all of the receivers lacked production — and none had more than three TD receptions.
Landry led the club with 52 catches for 570 yards, but both were career lows. His two TDs were also a career-low, as were his 87 targets. But Landry missed five games, and his 7.25 targets per game would’ve totaled 123 over 17 outings.
At 4.3 receptions per game, he would’ve had 74 through 17 games, which would’ve marked the second-lowest in his career to his 72 in 2020.
As for Clowney, he notched nine sacks last season after only three in his previous nine games. Clowney complements Myles Garrett well, and the Browns hope to wrap him up soon. The presence of Watson and the extra cap room could hasten the deal.
The Browns could also turn their attention to an extension for Denzel Ward soon with the cap relief.
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