BEREA, Ohio — Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry says he’s been playing all season with a fracture in his lower back.
Landry says that’s what has caused the hip pain that has bothered him all season. He will wait until the offseason to address the problem.
“Just talking to the doctors and the early scans from OTAs, I began with a fractured sacrum and then, from there, everything else just kind of started going bad,” the 27-year-old said Thursday.
Landry has never missed a game in his six-year NFL career and plans on extending that streak to 96 when the Browns play Sunday in Cincinnati. Cleveland was eliminated from playoff contention last week and is assured of finishing with a worse record than the 7-8-1 it posted in 2018.
“It is always important to me that the work that we have put in together collectively as a group that we owe it to each other,” he said. “We owe it to each other to go out there one last time for this season and compete to win.”
In his second year with the Browns, Landry currently leads the team with 81 receptions for 1,092 yards and five touchdowns. With nine catches Sunday, he would break the single-season franchise record shared by former tight ends Ozzie Newsome and Kellen Winslow II.
FILE – In this Nov. 11, 2018, file photo, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry reacts in the second half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, in Cleveland. No longer a punching bag, the Browns are punching back.(AP Photo/David Richard, File)
AP
Landry is the second Browns star receiver who has reportedly been playing hurt this year: His best friend Odell Beckham Jr. has apparently been battling a hernia that could require surgery. Neither has appeared on the team’s injury report at any point during the regular season.
“They fight through the pain, fight through the injury,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said of the pair. “We ask a lot of those guys, and they continue to bring it and give it to us every day. I am thankful for those guys.”
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Despite the injury, Landry has played well enough to be named to his fifth straight Pro Bowl. It’s an honor he appreciates, even if its not the ultimate goal.
“Ultimately, I want to be in the Super Bowl,” he said. “I do not really every truly plan to make a Pro Bowl or to be a part of a Pro Bowl, but it is an honor that obviously is on every player’s checklist or accomplishment. To add another one, it definitely feels good, but I wish I could substitute it for a Super Bowl.”
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