Jarvis Landry recollects his ugly exodus from the Dolphins in 2018 — and there’s a worthy history lesson for Miami to remember nearly a decade later
Former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry looks back on his trade from Miami to Cleveland on a recent podcast appearance — and there’s a history lesson worth remembering.
The Miami Dolphins have had a frustrating history of letting their success stories out the door in recent years.
We aren’t just talking about names like Jaelan Phillips, Jaylen Waddle, Christian Wilkins, and Jevon Holland, either. You can go back a decade to when Miami was letting Olivier Vernon and Jarvis Landry out of the building, too. Miami’s had a few too many players they’ve successfully developed only to turn loose to someone else across the league over the last decade.
Landry, on a recent podcast appearance, recalled the story of his exile to Cleveland — and it’s sure to not earn Miami’s old coach any more fond memories from Dolphins fans.
Former Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry recalls trade to Cleveland in new podcast appearance
“When I got to my contract year, I had a decision to hold out or to go to training camp. I said ‘You know what? Imma show up. Imma be a team guy. Imma go to training camp, go do everything, show them that I’m a Dolphin. I want to say here, I want to be here.’ And that season ended, man.
‘We got $11 million for you.’ Top guy at that time getting paid $15 million…Julio Jones, Odell (Beckham Jr.) had just got paid. We had a guy on our team, Kenny Stills. Kenny Stills was making about $11 million a year. No way y’all see us the same.
Next thing you know, I’m about to go toTennessee or I’m about to go Baltimore. Cleveland was never in the picture. My coach at the time (Adam Gase), it was his thing in team meetings where he’d say ‘if somebody don’t want to play for the Miami Dolphins, I’ll send your ass to Cleveland.’…Essentially, send you to Cleveland so your career could die. They called me, said ‘you’re going to Cleveland’.”
Former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry
On the 'Deebo & Joe Podcast'
Landry recalled his exodus from Miami on the ‘Deebo & Joe Podcast’. The story, with hindsight, certainly didn’t age well for former Dolphins head coach Adam Gase. Gase would be fired at the end of the 2018 season, while Landry logged two consecutive Pro Bowls in Cleveland and set a career-high in receiving yards in 2019.
It not only scores as re-opening a painful scar for Dolphins fans to look back on losing a fan favorite. But it also counts as a cautionary tale for Miami moving forward. Teams don’t get good very often by shuttling off their best players for a few million dollars. The 2018 Dolphins were led in receiving by Danny Amendola, who posted 575 yards on the season. Those Adam Gase offenses ran through Landry — trading him away proved short-sighted from a scheme perspective. Even if not paying Landry top wide receiver money was the right call, Miami still faltered offensively after trying him away.
You think they could have used Landry? Absolutely. So as the 2026 Miami Dolphins try to navigate an extension for RB De’Von Achane, the history lesson here bears remembering. Perhaps a few extra million per season isn’t a bad idea after all in the negotiations. Especially given how blank the canvas is in Miami moving forward on the payroll. Just food for thought — as those who don’t remember history are too often doomed to repeat it.
Miami Dolphins News