Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was named the AFC offensive player of the week on Wednesday in recognition of his play in last Sunday’s 37-34 victory over the Bengals.
Mayfield threw five touchdown passes and completed 22-of-23 passes over the final two-plus quarters with his only incompletion coming when he spiked the ball to stop the clock in the fourth quarter. All of that came after Odell Beckham’s season-ending torn ACL and some people connected the dots to suggest that the Browns are better off without the wideout.
Jarvis Landry isn’t signing on to that take. During an appearance on 92.3 The Fan, Landry said that Beckham’s presence was a benefit to everyone on the unit.
“I would say that’s not true at all,” Landry said, via Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal. “I think a lot of our offense has been solely based on having Odell on the field. And a lot of the things that have opened up for us as an offense has been because of the threat that he is. Now we’ve just got to find a way to adapt and adjust and make plays.”
There will be plenty of opportunities to test the theory that Beckham’s absence is a positive over the next nine games, but it doesn’t sound like Landry will be buying in at any point.