Former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry revealed more brutal details on the trade that sent him to the Cleveland Browns.
When the Miami Dolphins drafted wide receiver Jarvis Landry out of LSU, he had all the makings of becoming a top receiver. That was the case, as he rocketed out in his rookie season to the tune of 758 yards and five touchdowns.
Landry continued to impress, securing over 1,000 yards in 2015 and 2016, and nearly doing the same in 2017. Oddly enough, the Dolphins decided to trade the receiver to the Cleveland Browns, and Landry has now revealed some brutal details on what transpired.
What was being told in the news at the time was that Landry had become disgruntled with the Dolphins, which could have been due to having the franchise tag placed on him. He would go on to sign the tag, and was traded a day later.
The whole drama behind the trade has been known, but now Landry has revealed some more torrid details on what led to his being sent to Cleveland. The former Miami pass catcher joined the "Deebo & Joe" podcast, where he broke down exactly what transpired.
Per Landry, he was upset with the Dolphins organization, as he had just broken the reception record, and was given an $11 million per year contract. He took umbrage with that as fellow wide receiver Kenny Stills was making that much, but their production was far different.
Landry also stated that he chose to opt out of holding out and instead showed up to showcase his team-first mentality and to show the Dolphins organization he was ready to stay there.
"'We got 11 million for you.' The top guy at the time was making $15-14 million, and I was thinking Julio Jones, Odell had just got paid, and we had a guy on our team named Kenny Stills. Kenny Still was making about $11 million dollars a year. There's no way y'all see us the same," Landry said.
Landry also indicated that he was told he was set to be traded to the Tennessee Titans or Baltimore Ravens, and the head coach at the time (whom he did not name) had said in practice that if you do not want to play for the Dolphins, you'll get sent to the Browns as a symbolic punishment.
"My coach at the time. It was his thing in team meeting to say, "If somebody doesn't want to play for the Miami Dolphins, I'll send your ass to cleveland.' Cleveland, at the time, was 1-5, 0-16. Essentially, send you to Cleveland, so your career can die. They called me and said, 'Man, you're going to Cleveland.' I said, 'Cleveland? What happened to Tennessee? What happened to Baltimore?' It was one of those symbolic things of, 'Hey you don't want to be with us? F*** You,'" Landry said.
Landry did publicly state at the time that he was sent to the Browns "to die," but nothing more was said about exactly what happened.
Landry would still go on to have a decent few seasons with the Browns, securing a career-high 1,174 yards in 2019. Following his stint in Cleveland, the Pro Bowl receiver would land with the New Orleans Saints in 2022, which all but wrapped up his playing career.
The NFL can be a cruel place, especially when it comes to the business aspect of things. This is Landry's side of things, which does not paint the Dolphins organization in the best of light.