Jarvis Landry Playing Through Broken Rib; Admirable By Him, Avoidable For Team

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry revealed on Thursday that he's been dealing with a broken rib suffered against the Indianapolis Colts.

He slowed down to adjust to a pass that was slightly behind, but ultimately a reasonably throw from Baker Mayfield and was when planted into the turf with a Colts defender landing on his back causing the injury.

No one can question Landry's toughness. Multiple times during his Browns tenure, he looked all but assuredly out only to play in the following game. This is a testament to how much Landry is willing to go through in order to be there for his teammates. But, there is a problem. He stuck out like a sore thumb against the Pittsburgh Steelers and it caused a massive schematic problem for the Browns.

When Odell Beckham is the only receiver on the field with the ability to stretch the field, the defense can spend extra resources on him and play much tighter to the line of scrimmage to stop a slower group of receiving threats.

Currently, it makes the Browns look they are missing the speed they were getting from KhaDarel Hodge. But it's also avoidable on their part. They don't have to have Landry play the whole game, especially if he's physically compromised. There is enough talent for them to look at other options.

The Browns tight end room could be the best answer. Use all three. Austin Hooper is a good athlete. Harrison Bryant is an okay athlete. David Njoku is an elite athlete. He's faster than Landry, especially right now and could offer the Browns the ability to stretch the field, creating space at other places on the field. Flex him out, line him up as a receiver and let him run down the field, run drags or dig routes. They can have Hooper and Bryant on the field at the same time, dictating the personnel defenses can use against them, causing them to be bigger and slower.

The other option they have, which they've used somewhat sporadically is Kareem Hunt in the passing game. He's athletic enough and a good enough route runner where he can put pressure on defenses. Whether it's utilizing running back wheels, isolated against a linebacker or simply finding him spots to get him the ball in space, it could force the defense to play a little further back.

Putting Landry on a pitch count might get the most out of him as well as help him heal. Landry doesn't win with speed, but when the Browns offensive weaponry is as slow as it has been at times, most notably against the Steelers, it makes it that much more difficult to create space to run the ball and put Baker Mayfield in a position to success.