These two close friends have fallen on hard times since leaving the Browns.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
What if I told you …
Odell Beckham Jr.’s last good year was with the Browns.
You can look it up.
Beckham signed last week with the Miami Dolphins. It’s his third team in four years since forcing his way out of Cleveland during the 2021 season.
After the Browns, Beckham played eight games with the Rams before re-injuring his ACL in the Rams’ Super Bowl win over the Bengals. He spent the entire 2022 season re-habbing his knee and then signed a humungous $15 million guaranteed contract with the Ravens. Now at age 31, Beckham is with the Dolphins on a bargain-basement $3 million deal with incentives.
Here is the rundown of Beckham’s statistical demise:
2019: With the Browns, Beckham played in 16 games, had 74 receptions for 1,035 yards and 4 touchdowns.
2020: With the Browns, Beckham played in 7 games, had 23 receptions for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns.
2021: Beckham split the season with the Browns and Rams. With the Browns, he played in 6 games, had 17 receptions for 232 yards and 0 touchdowns. With the Rams, he played in 8 games, had 27 receptions for 305 yards and 5 touchdowns.
2022: No team.
2023: With the Ravens, Beckham played in 14 games, had 35 receptions for 565 yards and 3 touchdowns.
What if I told you …
Jarvis Landry, also 31, Beckham’s best friend, and the better teammate with the Browns, has had an even more precipitous demise since leaving the Browns.
Landry had 81, 83 and 72 receptions in his first three seasons with the Browns. After Beckham left in 2021, Landry dropped to 52 receptions, 570 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The next season, 2022, Landry latched on with his hometown New Orleans Saints. He played in 9 games and had 25 receptions, 272 yards and 1 touchdown.
In 2023, Landry couldn’t find a team and spent the year out of the NFL.
This week, Landry will work out for the Jacksonville Jaguars at their rookie minicamp.
On the Rich Eisen Show recently, Landry said, “To be able to walk into an opportunity this year, going out to get healthy, working with doctors, getting the support from people that I trust dearly, switching agents in the middle of all this, it really was a dark time for me trying to figure all of that out and maneuver.”
What if I told you …
The Browns will have fewer prime-time games than expected when the 2024 NFL schedule is released.
This was tipped off when the Las Vegas sports books set the Browns’ projected win total at 8.5. That’s one game lower than in 2023. And the Browns are coming off a surprise 11-win season powered, in part, by the league’s No. 1 defense (in some categories).
The Browns have the same 8.5 win number as the Bears, Colts, Jaguars, Chargers and Rams.
So, how many national prime-time games do you think those teams will receive?
I’d bet the Bears and Chargers get more than the Browns because they have more star power in Caleb Williams and Jim Harbaugh, respectively.
Some teams with higher win numbers than the Browns: Jets (9.5), Texans (9.5) and Falcons (9.5). Wow, think about that.
What’s holding back the love for the Browns?
I think it’s the uncertainty about, and lack of confidence in, Deshaun Watson coming back from right shoulder surgery.
What if I told you …
My way-way-too-early Super Bowl matchup is Cincinnati vs. Green Bay.
Here’s what I’m thinking:
If Joe Burrow is healthy, he’s the only AFC quarterback unfazed by Patrick Mahomes’ aura who can outduel him.
As for the Packers, they’re one of the best-run football operations and have Jordan Love turned in the right direction with a young group of offensive talent surrounding him.