Thanks to some comments Jarvis Landry made about his old quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, we might have a bit more insight into why the Fins were happy to trade one of the most productive receivers in the league to the Cleveland Browns, rather than give him a lucrative long-term deal.
From NFL GameDay on Twitter Wednesday morning: “I have not heard from Tannehill,” Landry said. “I’m not surprised. We didn’t really have a good relationship.”
Quarterbacks and receivers really do need to mesh, both on and off the field, for the relationship to work well. Clearly, that wasn’t the case between Tannehill and Landry.
These comments also shed a bit more light into why Landry may have felt inclined to shade Tannehill last week.
“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. It’s a lot better than what I had in Miami. I’m excited about that.” Landry said, per The Plain Dealer’s Dan Labbe.
Objectively speaking, Tannehill isn’t an elite NFL passer. At least not yet. In his five seasons playing for Miami, the former first-round pick has completed 62.7 percent of his passes, has thrown 106 touchdowns and 66 interceptions while posting a record of 37-40.
That said, it sure seems like Landry’s whole beef with Tannehill extends well beyond what the two accomplished on the field into a more personal realm.