Jarvis Landry will accomplish a significant career milestone as soon as he takes his first snap Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
Landry, the Browns' seventh-year wide receiver, will play in his 100th consecutive game and reach triple digits in a streak he started from his first NFL game in 2014. He's always taken pride in his talents and durability that have kept him on the field, and now that streak has reached a special number.
"It means a lot," Landry said. "I try my best to make sure that I take care of my body to be out there each and every Sunday."
Landry first envisioned capturing a lengthy streak of consecutive games played as a kid watching Monday Night Football. He always was astonished when the broadcast crew highlighted a specific player's consecutive games streak that extended for several seasons at a time.
Those streaks are symbolic to a player's character and worth to a team, and he hoped he'd have a chance to show it himself if he could reach the league.
"You see the stat go across the screen of a guy that has that, like (former Browns T) Joe Thomas, for instance," Landry said, referring to Thomas' streak of 10,363 consecutive snaps taken, which is believed to be the longest in NFL history. "I always wanted that for my career."
Check out the 10 best photos of Wide Receiver Jarvis Landry
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80)
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80)
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80)
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80)
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80)
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80)
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80)
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80)
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80)
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80)
Landry has needed to push hard to keep his streak going into 2020. He spent most of the offseason recovering from a hip surgery in February for an injury that nagged him throughout 2019. He was always ready to be on the field, though, and still made 93 receptions and six touchdowns, which led all Browns receivers.
His recovery from surgery was still ongoing in training camp, and while Landry admitted he's not quite 100 percent, he's still ready to take the field and help the offense in any way possible.
"It was my first time having a major surgery so there still were a lot of things that were unexpected and new every day," he said. "I worked my butt off to make sure that I can be in the position I am today."
Kevin Stefanski has certainly appreciated Landry's perseverance in recovering from surgery, too. Landry's importance as a leader in the receivers room has helped Stefanski mold his offense into what he envisioned when he became Cleveland's head coach in February. The Browns appear to be moving in the direction Stefanski hoped when he built a playbook around Cleveland's top offensive stars, and he's needed Landry on the field to execute his game plan at top efficiency.
"It's an impressive achievement," Stefanski said. "It's not easy, and anyone that can do that is battling some sort of injury over those 100 games. For him to come off the surgery this year and be out there and be productive and looking like Jarvis to me, it's very impressive. He's someone who works extremely hard in the weight room to get treatment. He works hard to make sure he's out there with his teammates."
Landry has made 12 receptions on 13 targets for 143 yards through three games this season. He's still searching for that first touchdown, but Landry is thrilled that the Browns' offensive weapons are all chipping in to win games. Cleveland is off to its best start to a season since 2004, and Landry is happy to carry any role on the offense as long as the Browns are winning.
He laughed when he was asked about the zero in the touchdown category. The Browns have leaned heavily on RBs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt to move the ball past the goal-line on red zone trips, but Landry knows he's an option to score on every drive. That won't be changing anytime soon.
"Chubb and Kareem are making it pretty hard for me to even have a chance in the red zone," he said with a chuckle. "Hopefully, we'll get some chances here soon."
Maybe some of those chances will come Sunday against the Cowboys, whom the Browns are hoping to win for the first time since 1994.
Regardless of the results, however, Landry will have a game with an accomplishment worth celebrating.
Check out exclusive photos of the Browns preparing for their game against the Dallas Cowboys
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) during practice on September 30, 2020
Head Coach Kevin Stefanski during practice on September 30, 2020
Safety Andrew Sendejo (23) during practice on September 30, 2020
Center Nick Harris (53) during practice on September 30, 2020
Tight end Harrison Bryant (88) during practice on September 30, 2020
Quarterback Case Keenum (5) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) during practice on September 30, 2020
Running Back D'Ernest Johnson (30) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on September 30, 2020
Offensive tackle Jack Conklin (78) during practice on September 30, 2020
Defensive end Joe Jackson (91) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) and Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80) during practice on September 30, 2020
Defensive end Olivier Vernon (54) during practice on September 30, 2020
Safety Ronnie Harrison (33) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Rashard Higgins (82) and Cornerback A.J. Green (38) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Sione Takitaki (44) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on September 30, 2020
Cornerback Kevin Johnson (28) during practice on September 30, 2020
Safety Jovante Moffatt (35) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on September 30, 2020
Cornerback A.J. Green (38) during practice on September 30, 2020
Tight end Austin Hooper (81) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) during practice on September 30, 2020
Defensive end Myles Garrett (95) during practice on September 30, 2020
Running Back D'Ernest Johnson (30) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80) during practice on September 30, 2020
Running Back Nick Chubb (24) during practice on September 30, 2020
Running Back Nick Chubb (24) during practice on September 30, 2020
Offensive guard Wyatt Teller (77) during practice on September 30, 2020
Defensive end Olivier Vernon (54) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Sione Takitaki (44) during practice on September 30, 2020
Defensive end Myles Garrett (95) during practice on September 30, 2020
Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (65) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Malcolm Smith (56) during practice on September 30, 2020
Offensive guard Wyatt Teller (77) during practice on September 30, 2020
Offensive tackle Michael Dunn (68) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) during practice on September 30, 2020
Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt during practice on September 30, 2020
Offensive tackle Jack Conklin (78) during practice on September 30, 2020
Quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during practice on September 30, 2020
A referee during practice on September 30, 2020
Cornerback Robert Jackson (34) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Ja'Marcus Bradley (84) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Rashard Higgins (82) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Coach Jason Tarver during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Jacob Phillips (50) during practice on September 30, 2020
Safety Ronnie Harrison (33) during practice on September 30, 2020
Cornerback Greedy Williams (26) during practice on September 30, 2020
Center JC Tretter (64) during practice on September 30, 2020
