The franchise tag is the biggest joke in the National Football League. It’s basically this: A franchise giving you a one-year deal, but this is also their way of saying you can’t explore your options with other franchises. Hello? You all are aware that this is a business, right? That was my exact sentiments when I heard that the Miami Dolphins decided to slap the franchise tag on Jarvis Landry, their best offensive player. It’s incredible that all these moves are being made before the new calendar year begins and we have another one, this is the fourth trade that’s been made this week. We saw Bennett get traded to the defending champions, Talib rejoin Wade Phillips in Los Angeles for the Rams, Alec Ogletree is now a member of the New York Giants and now we can add Jarvis Landry to the list. He’s officially been traded to the Cleveland Browns.
I think Jarvis or “Juice” as he’s referred too by his peers is such an underrated and more so underappreciated wide receiver if anything. Of course, we’re going to hear about the top tier guys (Antonio, Julio, Hopkins and Odell when healthy), I really feel Jarvis Landry is on that second tier of the NFL’s best wide receivers. He plays the position as if he were a defensive player. He has the mentality of a defensive player as he wants to initiate contact rather than take it and he’s such a fierce competitor along with the other attributes he brings to the table as a receiver. When you watch him play, he always wants the football and it doesn’t matter who’s defending him. He will find a way to the ball even if he’s seeing a double team, that right there should immediately show you how much he wants to make an impact. He’s a physical wide receiver that also plays as if he’s a running back. When he has the ball in his hands, he has absolutely no problem lowering that shoulder to run someone over and he’s great with the ball in his hands. To me, that’s when he’s at his best when he’s maneuvering in open space because he’s so difficult to tackle and bring down. He isn’t necessarily the fastest player and he won’t impress with his 40 time, but this guy was meant to be a football player. When he makes the catch, he can create separation, break tackles, he reads coverages and he knows exactly where to be for his quarterback to make the throw.
I am a huge fan of this move. This pairs Jarvis Landry up with Josh Gordon, who made his return after being away from the game for a few years. The Cleveland Browns have always found a way to add some pieces to improve their football team, but they always find a way to hurt themselves when it matters most in games. All the Browns need is more consistency from the quarterback position and who knows what will happen next with these guys. Corners having to now face both Gordon and Landry have been put on notice. If the Browns can at least get a serviceable quarterback whether it’s in the draft or Kirk Cousins in free agency, they will most definitely win a game when the season starts.
