Jarvis Landry: Skipping Miami Dolphins OTAs 'didn't cross my mind'

June 1 (UPI) -- While his former college roommate Odell Beckham Jr. skips out on New York Giants OTAs, Jarvis Landry didn't even think about doing that to the Miami Dolphins.

Landry is due $893,852 on the final year of his rookie deal. He hits free agency in 2018. While the LSU product said that he would like to get a deal done before the 2017 season, he told reporters Wednesday that he has much bigger goals.

"No, that [skipping voluntary OTAs] didn't cross my mind at all," Landry said. "My whole objective was to help my team get to the Super Bowl. That starts with me being here, first of all. I'm not really worried about any contract or anything like that. I'm more focused on trying to help my team get to the Super Bowl, week-in and week-out, playing hard, playing well, playing together."

The Dolphins made a huge jump in 2016, moving from the a 6-10 record and the cellar of the AFC East to a 10-6 mark and making the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons under first-year head coach Adam Gase.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill says he is healed from last season's ACL injury, which ended his season. It has carried over this offseason as motivation to regain his 2016 success.

Beckham has been mum about showing up for the Giants, despite the team picking up his fifth-year option for 2018 in April.

Landry watched the Dolphins reward Kenny Stills with a four-year, $32 million contract in March. He said he has talked back and forth with the franchise but "there's nothing really going on."

He is primed to be the slot man in an offense featuring Stills, DeVante Parker and offseason acquisition Julius Thomas. He calls the potential of the Dolphins' offense "endless."

"It's endless," Landry said. "First of all, to speak on it, it's an opportunity again to get all of us together in the same room. It kind of started with re-signing Kenny, getting DeVante healthy and then bringing in a piece like Julius and Anthony Fasano. These guys are going to help our offense in the pass game, in the run game, but also their leadership. They've been a part of a couple of teams that have won...I think Julius was part of the Super Bowl team. To have their leadership in the locker room and on the field as well, it's big time for us."

Landry, 24, is a two-time Pro Bowl selection. He has 206 receptions and more than 1,110 receiving yards in each of the last two seasons. Dolphins safety Michael Thomas, who signed a one-year, $1.7 million deal in April, gave Landry props on Thursday after the Dolphins' final sessions of OTAs for the week.

"Obviously you're guarding probably one of the quickest guys on the field," Thomas said of playing nickel cornerback. "You think about a guy like Jarvis. He's probably the best slot receiver in the NFL. You've got to be able to be quick. You've got to be able to play with leverage. When teams see that, they see a safety – a smaller, quicker guy – they try to put big guys on him. They try to scheme you up and get you out-leveraged. They might run the ball right at you, so you've got to be physical. You've got to be able to play with leverage. You've got to be able to get in and out of breaks and when you're going against guys like Jarvis, it only makes you better. I love the challenge."

Landry was ranked No. 42 on the NFL Network's Top 100 players this season. He ranked No. 98 in 2016. He said Wednesday that he is eyeing an even higher ranking.

"Honestly, me personally, I play this game to be recognized as one of the best," Landry said. "For me, and I'm sure every player, they want to be No. 1. I've always approached this game that way and how I've worked that way, so I wouldn't settle for 42, like I said."

In November, Darrelle Revis said that Landry is "the one that's usually throwing the first punch" when there is an on field skirmish. He also said he's usually the one in the "middle of a lot of those flags."

"Juice" has been penalized 17 times during his career (12 accepted). Eight of those penalties were for unsportsmanlike conduct, unnecessary roughness or taunting. By comparison, Beckham has been flagged 16 times (13 accepted). Seven of his flags were for unsportsmanlike conduct, unnecessary roughness or taunting.

Landry says he wants to be a leader on this team, similar to other star athletes.

"I think for me it's continued leadership and by that, I say you see some of these guys, you talk about LeBron James, Michael Jordan, things that they've done for their team," Landry said Wednesday. "They make guys around them better. So again, like the yapping and all that, it's healthy competition but also just trying to find a way to make the guys around me better and pushing myself day-in and day-out and leading by example."

"I'm not much of a talker, but I kind of lead by example a little bit."