Jarvis Landry has become a fan favorite as a star on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” but defenders in the Bills locker room aren’t as fond of the Browns wide receiver.
On a 4-yard touchdown run by Cleveland running back Carlos Hyde in the first quarter of the two team’s preseason meeting Friday, Landry lowered the boom on Bills rookie cornerback Taron Johnson.
Check this preseason block..
— Jac Collinsworth (@JacCollinsworth) August 18, 2018
Jarvis Landry is tired of losing. pic.twitter.com/JWhszL16pD
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Landry wasn't penalized for the hit and Johnson didn’t seem bothered when asked about the play over the weekend, but Bills teammate Lorenzo Alexander was displeased.
“Obviously, defenders get called all the time on stuff that is probably less egregious than that. If we're going to protect our football players, we need to protect everybody, not just offensive guys,” Alexander said Sunday (via ESPN.com). "It was dirty at the end of the day, and that's how I feel about it."
Landry has a bit of history with the Bills that made Friday’s hit more suspect.
In 2016 as a member of the Dolphins, Landry injured Bills safety Aaron Williams on an illegal crackback block. Landry was penalized and fined $24,309, and Williams, who suffered head and neck injuries on the play, never played again before announcing his retirement in January.
Bills safety Micah Hyde referenced the Williams hit in his criticism.
“That's the same as that play that Aaron Williams got hit on a couple years back and basically ruined his career,” Hyde said. “To me, that's B.S. You can't do that. All you have to do is get into position, screen him off. He doesn't have to come in and try to kill anybody."
As for Johnson's reaction to the hit, he said: "I just got to be more aggressive on that play. That's the main thing. It's still football, at the end of the day. So stuff like that happens sometimes. I have no animosity toward him at all."