CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns receiver Jarvis Landry — who turns 28 on Saturday — admitted Friday that his long journey back from hip surgery took a physical and emotional toll but that he feels better now after decompressing during the bye three weeks ago.
“That bye week really gave me some more life mentally after going damn near 50-60 weeks straight of just rehabbing, training and getting to the feel of practicing and trying to make sure I make the season,’’ Landry said. “Mentally, I was kind of overloaded as well, not just my body-wise. I was able to revamp, I guess you can say, a little bit with the bye and get my body into a better place, but I’m still not where I want to be.’’
The road back to health actually began during the 2019 offseason when he suffered a fractured sacrum that kept him out of the offseason program. The fracture ultimately healed, but the hip injury flared up and got worse in training camp. He was held out much of camp and practiced sparingly throughout the season.
Still, he didn’t miss a game for the sixth straight year and posted career highs in receiving yards (1,174) and yards per reception (14.1) in 2019. The yardage total was fourth-highest in club history and his six receiving touchdowns marked the second-best total of his career. He was also voted to his fifth straight Pro Bowl and opted to play in the game and not undergo surgery.
But the hip flared up during the game after a three-week layoff, and Landry changed his mind and had the procedure in February, which involved shaving down some cartilage and removing two pieces of bone embedded in the labrum of his left hip.
He soon embarked on the grueling 6-8 month rehab with the goal of being back on the field for the opener in Baltimore seven months away. Through sheer will and determination, Landry achieved his goal, keeping alive his cherished streak of never missing a game in his career. In Week 5 against the Colts, he suffered two cracked ribs on the third play of the game when he went up for a 32-yard catch, and crawled to the sidelines. But he returned six plays later and finished the game, playing more than 50 snaps.
Landry dropped two fourth-quarter passes, but never considered coming out of the game. He played three more games in pain — and dropped three more passes in the loss to the Raiders — before having a chance to heal up over the bye.
The season has also been challenging for the receivers because the Browns initially featured the run and have now played in three straight bad-weather games that mostly grounded the aerial attack. Heading into Week 12 with Pro Bowl voting underway, Landry is tied for 48th in the NFL with only 38 receptions and tied for 46th with 471 yards. He’s still waiting for his first touchdown catch.
Last week, he played 38 snaps for 57%, but it was more about the pouring rain than a preservation of his body.
“I just think about our personnel and how we try to attack in the weather,’’ he said. “With the run game, we felt like we had more benefits in single-receiver sets. We wanted to make sure that we were able to run the ball in that weather and only threw the ball when we had to. On certain plays, it was a good mixture of guys that go in and the single receiver just to not have any tendencies. Whether that’s me in the game at those times, KhaDarel (Hodge) or Hig (WR Rashard Higgins), we just have to mix it up to keep the defense off balance so they don’t know when guys are out there if we are going to run or pass.’’
Landry is so on board with Kevin Stefanski’s scheme that he’s up for whatever it takes to win.
“Listen, I want to be out on the field every play,’’ Landry said. “But we try not to have tendencies and we try to make sure that we rotate guys in, whether it’s being able to give me a blow in a situation or it’s allowing a guy who he wants to do some run blocking things with eventually. It’s something that we do not want to create a true tendency with so that seems to be a mixture of guys who play during those times.”
On Sunday in Jacksonville, where the forecast is calling for a high of 75 degrees and a 25% chance of rain, the Browns are hoping to showcase their skill players more than they have lately, especially against an injury-riddled secondary.
Landry knows the offense will have to help carry the day in Jacksonville, what with the defense missing Myles Garrett, Sione Takitaki and Porter Gustin because of COVID-19 and Denzel Ward because of his calf strain. It was a challenging week of watching one teammate after another test positive for the virus.
“I don’t think anyone has ever been through a year like this one,’’ he said. “We’re just kind of rolling with the punches.”
On Thursday, Landry spent a nice afternoon with his family — Estrella, and their two kids Joy and Jai — and reflected on his tumultuous year.
“Just being grateful and being thankful,’’ Landry said. “Life is a blessing. I’ve had too many people – I am sure people on this call and people around the world – have lost in the blink of an eye. It’s a tough thing. You look at life and no matter what you’re going through or struggling with, you realize that you have another opportunity and another day.
“That’s a blessing, and I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful to be able to share that with my family each and every day. Then to come here and be a part of this organization and share with these guys who also I consider as family, I’m just grateful, and I’m blessed.’’
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