BEREA, Ohio — Since Jarvis Landry joined the Cleveland Browns’ organization through a trade in March of 2018, his stated goal has been to lead to a championship a team that has known nothing but struggles after returning to the National Football League in 1999.
And Landry is not talking about just the AFC North Division, as he clarified after the second day of practice in training camp.
“I know I train to win the Super Bowl and that’s it,” Landry said. “I know I’ve said that a lot and you guys hear me say it a lot, but that is what it is.
“When I first got here last year, it was, ‘Just win one game and we’ll be happy’ or ‘Just win three games and we’ll be happy and we’ll throw a parade for you guys,’ and it’s like, ‘I understand. I understand, but I’m here to win a championship, not just a couple games or just the division.’”
In pursuit of that championship, the Browns continued to overhaul the roster during the offseason and added key pieces through trades and free agency, namely Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., edge rusher Olivier Vernon and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson.
Although there are a lot of personalities in the locker room, Landry said coming together as a team is “simple” if the players put “ego, pride” aside and focus on the ultimate goal of bringing a championship to Cleveland.
“I think the biggest thing for us is winning the game,” Landry said. “Regardless of how we win, but winning the game.
“Whether it’s on the ground, special teams, defense is gonna have to win us some games, special teams is gonna have to win us some games, so it’s not gonna be all about us and the offense. It’s gonna be a full team effort when we win a game.”
Since arriving in Cleveland more than 18 months ago, Landry has seen “a big difference” in culture throughout the organization, and he gave first-year coach Freddie Kitchens a “tremendous” amount of credit in the development of a championship mindset.
“Guys are learning how to win games,” Landry said. “Guys are learning how to practice, take care of each other, and always have that mindset to stay on the gas until it’s fourth quarter, 00 clock, game’s over and we’re on the winning side. That’s something that we’re going to continue to build.
“He knows what he wants. He has a plan. He has a goal for this team, and again, we all have the same mindset. It’s simple. On paper, we look great. We look great. We look damn great, but that doesn’t win us games. We’ve got to do the hard things. We’ve got to get over things throughout the season, and now, ultimately, we want to win a championship, and that’s just the mindset.”
Just like he did following the trade from the Miami Dolphins to Cleveland last spring, Landry is going to take opportunities as they come, cheer on his teammates when they are featured in the game plan and continue pursuit of a championship through every meeting and each practice.
“I’ve been one to just roll with the punches, roll with whatever’s coming,” Landry said. “I embrace where I’m at. I’m a winner. Wherever I’m at, I believe it’s going to be a winning tradition, a winning culture there.”