Cleveland Browns: Jarvis Landry Returns to Action
Jarvis Landry has played in 96 consecutive games, and he has moved a step closer to extending that streak.
The Browns wide receiver, who had hip surgery in February, was activated Saturday and removed from the active/physically unable to perform list. Landry was reportedly leaning against surgery originally, but opted for it in time to be back for camp.
Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. give the Browns one of the NFL's most explosive wide receiver combinations, and Landry plans to be ready when the Browns open the season at M&T Bank Stadium on Sept. 13 against the Ravens. Having never missed a game during his six NFL seasons, Landry prides himself on his durability.
"Obviously that's one of the biggest things for me, that's one of the goals that I would set for myself since I was a kid watching Monday Night Football," Landry said during a conference call in May. "Obviously I want to make sure I'm going through this process the right way. But I'm really focused on this rehab to make sure that I can be ready for the season."
Landry caught 83 passes for a career-high 1,174 yards and six touchdowns last season despite dealing with the injury. In his two games against Baltimore, Landry caught 15 passes for 241 yards, showing that even excellent secondaries have difficulty slowing him down.
The Browns are likely to be cautious with Landry when he returns to the field in training camp, but being removed from the PUP list is the latest sign that he's planning to be ready Week 1.
Cincinnati Bengals: Defensive Tackle Mike Daniels Eyes Cincinnati
When defensive tackle Josh Tupou opted out of the 2020 season, it sent the Bengals looking for defensive line help. Veteran defensive tackle Mike Daniels may be the answer.
Daniels visited Cincinnati this weekend and is expected to sign a contract, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Daniels spent seven years with the Green Bay Packers and made the Pro Bowl in 2017. He spent last season with the Detroit Lions and played in nine games, making two starts. Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo indicated last week that an addition to the defensive line could be on the horizon.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Chase Claypool Looks to Make Splash as Rookie Wideout
Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert has a long history of drafting explosive wide receivers. The list of names he has drafted includes Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Wallace.
This year, the Steelers selected Chase Claypool of Notre Dame in the second round, a 6-foot-4, 238-pound wideout who has been timed at 4.41 in the 40-yard dash. Wide Receivers Coach Ike Hilliard says he expects Claypool to make an immediate impact as a new target for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
"(If) Chase does what we expect him to do and that's make plays early and often, Chase is going to play a lot," Hilliard said on a conference call video via SI.com. "You can't teach 6-4, 238, 4.41 electric time. That's just something that doesn't fall off a tree. You get a chance to harness that kind of talent and kind of shape it and mold it into something that can really be special."
Claypool, who caught 66 passes for 1,037 yards and 13 touchdowns last season at Notre Dame, is not shying away from the expectations, even though this season will be extra challenging for rookies.
"I'm not going to make any excuses," Claypool said. "We're not going to make any excuses about how much time we missed. We worked virtually. We worked hard. We have to now make sure that we when do get real snaps we maximize those."
