If Dawan Landry needs a better indication of how the strong safety is used in Rex Ryan’s defensive scheme, he can receive the answers with a quick phone call to his younger brother LaRon.
Nearly two weeks after LaRon Landry left the New York Jets by signing a four-year deal with the Colts, Dawan met with the team on Wednesday according to multiple reports. The elder Landry was released by the Jaguars earlier this month in a cost-cutting move.
If Landry signs with the Jets he will be reunited with Ryan, his former defensive coordinator in Baltimore. Landry, a fifth-round pick of the Ravens in 2006, enjoyed two of the best seasons of his career in Ryan’s system before suffering a serious season-ending neck injury early in the 2008 season. Ryan left to become the Jets’ head coach months later.
As a rookie in 2006, Landry finished with five interceptions and six pass defenses while playing alongside Ed Reed on the league’s top-ranked defense. Landry (6-1, 212) was named to several All-Rookie teams and was one of only seven players to garner a vote for AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. He followed it up with a stellar season in 2007 when he recorded 82 tackles -- the third-most on the Ravens’ defense behind Bart Scott and Ray Lewis.
Landry, 30, had started 32 consecutive games in Jacksonville after signing a five-year contract with the Jaguars in 2011. Last season, Landry finished third on the team in total tackles with 100. The eight-year veteran was set to make $3.9 million in 2013 before his release.
Landry struggled at times in pass coverage as opposing quarterbacks finished with a quarterback rating of 107.4 on throws in his direction, according to Pro Football Focus. Only six starting safeties in the league fared worse in the category, the website found. He wasn’t helped, though, by a front seven that generated little pressure and finished last in the league in sacks per pass attempt.
LaRon, meanwhile, resurrected his injury-plagued career in his only season with the Jets. Coming off an Achilles injury that cut his 2011 season short with the Redskins, LaRon finished with career-highs in combined tackles (100) and forced fumbles (four) last season. Despite the loss of Darrelle Revis for most of the season, the Jets still ranked second in the NFL against the pass.
The loss of Landry’s younger brother and Yeremiah Bell, as well as the release of Eric Smith leaves the Jets with one of the least-experienced safety tandems in the AFC. Josh Bush and Antonio Allen, the Jets’ projected starters at safety, will each be entering their second season in 2013. Landy could command a contract similar to the three-year, $6.0 million deal Michael Huff reached with the Ravens on Wednesday.
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