NEWSLETTER
The Miami Dolphins had previously balked at Jarvis Landry’s requests for a long-term deal, but will make him the second-highest-paid receiver in the NFL after announcing they will hand him the franchise tag.
To be completely honest, the wisdom of the decision was questionable, even as the Dolphins wasted no time going this route to ensure they still have, at a minimum, another year of (pricey) control of Landry. But can they really afford to have him taking up so much cap room next year and still make the necessary improvements to field a competitive club in 2018, assuming a healthy return for Ryan Tannehill?
Well, maybe Landry isn’t part of that plan after all. At least not directly.
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald has a theory that could make a little sense from the Dolphins’ perspective – even if Salguero himself describes the move as “amateur checkers.”
Salguero is “quite certain” the Dolphins are using the tag in an attempt to trade Landry. In this scenario, Salguero sees Miami’s front office as already lining up trade partners interested in adding Landry to their mix of pass catchers. After getting that group together, the Dolphins can then try to extract a draft pick (third-rounder? fourth-rounder? fifth-rounder?) or a player in return.
Is the plan actually feasible, though?
Consider this: Alshon Jeffery wasn’t given the franchise tag a year ago by the Bears, and ultimately signed a one-year deal with the Eagles worth $14 million, but only $9.5 million guaranteed. Although he was two years older than Landry at the time, the parallels as a talented, inconsistent, not-quite-top-tier-WR are not entirely off base. If the market said Jeffery was worth a $9.5 million guarantee, how much trade value does Landry have at a $16.2 million guarantee?
Maybe not much at all if a trade doesn’t come with a longer-term deal.
To that end, Landry holds all the leverage here. He can stay in Miami and earn a little more than $16 million, or orchestrate his exit, as well as the terms of his next deal. It’s a pretty great situation to be in if you’re in Landry’s shoes.
There’s also the matter of the pretty bitter back-and-forth between the two sides throughout the process of the negotiation. The public disputes regarding Landry’s future in Miami can’t bode well for the team’s bargaining power. So perhaps the bar will be lowered when it comes to trade expectations.
In the end, I suppose we can’t rule out the Bears making a push for Landry in the event Miami makes him available on the trade market. What that deal would look like, however, is up in the air and might not be as costly as one might expect.
Brett Taylor contributed to this post.
