Cowboys Urged to Sign to 5-Time Pro Bowl Receiver
The Dallas Cowboys could use a veteran set of hands and Jarvis Landry has been dubbed a fit for the squad.
The Cowboys did some work to improve their receiving corps this offseason. Dallas brought in Brandin Cooks via a solid trade and also drafted Jalen Brooks in the seventh round of the NFL Draft.
A player like Landry would be a welcomed addition, considering his strong resume and likely low price point. The 30-year-old pass-catcher landed on a list of five free agents the Cowboys should sign, curated by Ben Grimaldi of Cowboys Wire.
“Dallas could use another veteran with the ability to get open quickly to supplement their new West Coast version of the passing game,” Grimaldi wrote. “Landry still has the ability to get in and out of his routes quickly and makes plays after the catch.”
Landry departed the Cleveland Browns last offseason and signed with the New Orleans Saints. He dealt with injuries, playing in just nine games with three starts. In all, Landry recorded 25 catches for 272 yards and one touchdown, per Pro Football Reference. He hasn’t logged a 1,000-yard season since 2019 with Cleveland when he caught 83 passes for 1,174 yards and six touchdowns.
However, Landry has a pair of 100-catch seasons on his resume and would be a great addition next to CeeDee Lamb, Cooks and Michael Gallup on the depth chart.
Receiver depth was a glaring hole for the Cowboys last season. Lamb — who recently had his fifth-year option picked up — did his part, collecting 1,359 yards on 107 catches and finding the end zone nine times. Noah Brown was the next leading Cowboys receiver with 43 catches for 555 yards.
Prior to the Super Bowl, Lamb made a plea this offseason for the Cowboys to add more weapons, referencing what the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers established.
“You gotta surround (the quarterback),” Lamb said. “You go look at the Eagles, and they’ve got three receivers, a great tight end group, they run the ball well, the O-line is very phenomenal. You look at San Fran, they surrounded their quarterback and you get success ultimately. I mean we’ve got just as many weapons, but that extra player, all it takes is one. You can be so close to the Super Bowl and it can be a deciding factor.”
A big factor for the Cowboys’ passing game is Gallup, who didn’t look like the player he was prior to ACL surgery. Fresh off an extension, Gallup finished with just 39 catches in 14 games, recording a career-low 424 yards and four touchdowns.
He underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee and cleaned up his right ankle this offseason. The Cowboys are hoping a clean bill of health will help him get on track.
“I think Michael Gallup has a great chance to take the next step, in terms of what he can do,” Stephen Jones said in February. “Coming off a major ACL, I think it’s pretty typical the guys improve from the first year to the second year. There’s usually a jump and I fully expect Michael to do that.”
The Super Bowl expectations are clear for the Cowboys, so they’ll need their passing game hitting on all cylinders.