CLEVELAND – Jarvis Landry’s $16 million price tag for 2022 comes with the understanding that the Browns could save roughly $15 million if they cut him. If that happens, Baker Mayfield would be without the receiver he turns to the most in key situations.
Landry used Twitter on Tuesday to explain that, among other things, he has given everything he has to the Browns during his time in Cleveland. One of most important things he has given is a security blanket for Mayfield.
Landry was targeted 14 times last season while Mayfield was under pressure. He saw 17 targets when Mayfield was blitzed. Both were team highs, according to Pro Football Focus data.
According to Sports Info Solutions tracking, Landry was targeted 20 times when Browns quarterbacks were under pressure in 2021. He was targeted a team-high 16 times in the red zone in 2020.
But Landry isn’t the only player Mayfield could be missing in critical situations come next season.
Mayfield threw to David Njoku 18 times when under pressure last season, second behind Landry.
Njoku can become a free agent this offseason along with Rashard Higgins, who tied with Donovan Peoples-Jones for the most third-down targets from Mayfield last season (13). Higgins was third in targets under pressure in 2020, behind Landry (19) and Austin Hooper (19).
Speaking of Hooper, while he is under contract through 2023, he will have the fourth-largest salary cap hit among tight ends next season ($13.2 million). If the Browns decide that’s too much to pay for a tight end who has caught 46 and 38 passes the last two seasons, they could make Hooper a June cut, allowing them to spread his dead cap ($11.2 million, according to Spotrac) over two seasons.
Losing Hooper would leave Mayfield without his favorite red zone target in 2021 (12 targets).
Adding him to potential departures by Landry, Njoku and Higgins would create quite an offensive makeover for next season.
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