It's a good thing the Dolphins traded away Jarvis Landry this offseason, because it's starting to sound like he would have had some serious chemistry problems with Ryan Tannehill if he had stayed in Miami.
Although the two players spent four seasons together in South Florida, it appears that the Landry and Tannehill weren't very close friends off the field. During an interview with NFL Network on Wednesday, Landry was asked if he had heard from his former quarterback this offseason, and the answer to that question was a resounding no.
"We didn't really have a good relationship anyway, so I'm not surprised," Landry said.
There's a good chance that their relationship went from bad to worse last week after Landry took a subtle jab at Tannehill. Following a Browns OTA practice, Landry said that he was excited about playing in Cleveland because the quarterback situation was better than the one he had in Miami.
"The quarterback play is so important, which has got me that much more excited about Tyrod [Taylor] and [first-rounder Baker Mayfield] and the way that they're throwing the ball out here, it makes me that much more excited," Landry said. "It's a lot better than what I had in Miami. I'm excited about that."
It's not every day you hear a player saying he'd rather be playing for an 0-16 team over a team located in Miami.
One of the reasons that Landry likes working with Taylor is because the two have been practicing together on their own time. Apparently, Tannehill and Landry never held planned practice sessions together because Tannehill wasn't interested in putting in the extra time.
"Again, I didn't do that in Miami with the quarterbacks because they didn't want to do it," Landry said. "I would say that the chemistry and the type of guys that I'm around here makes me that much more excited because I know I'm going to be pushed at all levels at all times."
Despite those comments last week, Landry said he wasn't trying to "take a shot" at Tannehill.
"I wasn't trying to look back in the rearview mirror, you know." Landry told NFL Network. "I'm focused on here and where we're taking it here. I wasn't trying to take a shot at him. I understand how hard every guy in this NFL works, especially at the position, especially at the quarterback position."
After saying all that, Landry also added, "But at the same time too. ... I give credit where credit is due," which made it sound like he wasn't interested in giving any credit to Tannehill.
Landry might not be on good terms with Tannehill, but the two did manage to put up some big numbers together while in Miami. With Tannehill as his starting quarterback from 2014 thru 2016, Landry caught a total of 288 passes, which was tied with Odell Beckham Jr. for the fourth most over that span. Although those numbers are impressive, Landry's production actually went up last season, when Tannehill missed the entire year due to injury.
With Jay Cutler under center, Landry led the NFL in 2017 with 112 receptions.
Although Landry doesn't seem to be a big Tannehill fan, the Dolphins definitely feel differently. The team restructured his deal in March in such a way that it will be almost impossible to cut him before the end of the 2019 season without suffering serious financial consequences.
As for Landry, the only way he'll be able to back up his comments is if he has a huge year with the Browns, which should be easy since the Browns have the best receiving group in the NFL this year ... according to Josh Gordon.
