Jaguars 2024 Rookie Minicamp: "Exciting'' Opportunity for Jarvis Landry

May 10, 2024 at 05:12 PM

John Oehser

Jaguars Senior Writer

JACKSONVILLE – This is familiar, and familiar feels good to Jarvis Landry.

The nine-year veteran wide receiver participated in Jaguars 2024 Rookie Minicamp Friday. He did so on a "tryout basis" – and to the five-time Pro Bowl selection, being on an NFL field was a positive, whatever the capacity.

"It's exciting," he said following a one-hour, unpadded practice at the Miller Electric Center Friday. "It was good to be back out here and be around the structure and football and such a beautiful organization. I'm excited to have fun."

Landry, who last played in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints in 2022, missed the last three games of that season on injured reserve with an ankle injury and spent last season out of football.

"You just want to be able to put eyes on as many players as you can," Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson said shortly before Friday's practice. "He's obviously played several years in this league, a talented guy and you just want to see where he's at. He was out of ball. He has been hurt a little bit.

"We're just kind of seeing where he is healthwise and just seeing where he's at. It's nothing more than coming in on a tryout basis."

Added Pederson, "We understand that with Jarvis, he has played a ton of football. We know that. More than anything, it's sort of seeing where he is physically and mentally."

Landry said he felt good about the practice.

"I have some cleanup things to do, but for the most part, I felt pretty good," he said. "I just want to be as clean as possible, be the best teammate that I could possibly be."

Landry, a second-round selection by the Miami Dolphins in the 2014 NFL Draft, played four seasons with the Dolphins (2014-2017) and four seasons with the Cleveland Browns (2018-2021) before playing with the Saints in 2022. He called being out of the NFL in 2023 "stressful."

"I learned a lot about the man, getting healthy and things like that," Landry said. "Spending more time with family kept me grounded. I have a good support system, but it's always good to be back out here."

Landry has 713 career receptions for 7,870 yards and 38 touchdowns, being named to the Pro Bowl following the 2015-2019 seasons and leading the NFL in receptions with 112 in 2017. He caught 25 passes for 272 yards and one touchdown in nine games with three starts for the Saints in 2022.

While Landry said he discussed a tryout opportunity with several teams, he called the Jaguars "a good opportunity."

"Not only that, it's a great football team," he said. "It's on the cusp of doing some really great things inside of this division and the league, so I thought it'd be a good opportunity."

He added, "I wanted to see if I could really do it, if I still really want to do it and push myself to those limits. Being out of football last year was very tough. It made me grounded, but it also made me humble and grateful to have opportunities like this.

"This is a great stepping stone to the next chapter of what I'm looking for."

Landry, who said he began feeling 100 percent physically last season and would have been ready late in the season had a team called, was asked if he wanted to have his career end with his 2022 season.

"The competitor in me says no, but whatever is in God's plans and in his cards, I just kind of rock with that," he said.

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NOTABLE

While four young players who were around the Jaguars last season participated in Friday's practice, players such as cornerback Christian Braswell, linebacker Ventrell Miller and Cooper Hodges – 2023 NFL Draft selections by the Jaguars – did not participate. This is because all three players accrued a "pension credit" season in 2023, with Braswell playing three games before earning the credit by ending the season on injured reserve. Miller and Hodges obtained the credit because they spent the season on injured reserve, Miller with an Achilles injury and Hodges with a knee injury. "They're doing really well," Pederson said. "All three of those guys really have done a great job not only with their rehab, but this offseason so far. All three of them have been able to work." Players with the Jaguars last season participating in '24 rookie camp: Cornerback Erick Hallett, wide receiver Seth Williams, outside linebacker D.J. Coleman and linebacker Dequan Jackson.
The Jaguars on Friday announced they have signed four rookies from the 2024 NFL Draft class:
- Round 7 defensive end Myles Cole
- Round 6 kicker Cam Little
- Round 5 cornerback DeAntre Prince
- Round 5 running back Keilan Robinson

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Jacksonville, Fla. — Jaguars defensive lineman Jordan Jefferson (center) and cornerback De'Antre Prince (left) are outfitted with equipment ahead of rookie minicamp at the Miller Electric Center on May 9, 2024.