The Miami Dolphins have no business trading star wide receiver Jarvis Landry, but it seems almost a certainty that he is not part of the team's long-term plans. According to reports, Dolphins brass have met with Landry's agent and told him he is free to seek a trade.
Miami offered Landry the franchise tag worth approximately $16 million for the 2018 season the first day they were allowed to do so, but it appears they are not willing to work out a long-term agreement. When you factor in the bevy of needs across the Dolphins roster and the talent that Landry possesses, one has to wonder how their position makes any sense.
Any organization needs some cornerstone players to build around. How many can you legitimately count currently residing on the Dolphins roster?
The names that come to mind are Ndamukong Suh, Reshad Jones, Mike Pouncey and Cameron Wake, but three of those players are on the wrong side of 30. Landry is still only 25 years old.
Miami was a 6-10 team in 2017 that got older on defense and showed significant warts on the offensive line. Yes, the return of quarterback Ryan Tannehill will help, but how well he bounces back from his injury is at least a question for many.
Even if Tannehill is 100% the player he was pre-injury, that is not good enough to put the Dolphins above league average at the quarterback position. That is another reason why keeping the troika of Landry, Kenny Stills, and DeVante Parker together at wide receiver should be such a strong priority.
As a player, Landry fits Adam Gase's offense perfectly. He is exactly the kind of security blanket that Tannehill needs for his return and is far more talented than either Stills or Parker.
With 400 receptions, Landry has more than any NFL player in history over his first four seasons. He led the league with 112 catches last year and answered one of the last complaints that remained about his game by collecting a career-high nine touchdown grabs.
There have been reports that Landry's off-field demeanor does not match his high-level of productivity on the field. Still, this is not a player that has been in the headlines for getting arrested or even one who carries on a "diva" persona in the media a la wide receivers of the past like Terrell Owens, Randy Moss or Michael Irvin.
Whatever personal disagreements lie between Miami's leadership and Landry should be resolved. It is the job of both parties, but particularly imperative for management to squash whatever beef they have and work together in a professional way.
After all, the NFL stands for "Not For Long" in some circles. By giving up on a player with Landry's talent, the Dolphins front office may be stamping their ticket out of town.
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Carson Ingle is a South Florida native. He has been a sportswriter and sports talk radio host based in Orlando for the past ten years. He can currently be seen several times a week on Spectrum Sports 360's Face-Off segment at 10:30 p.m. on Central Florida News 13, channel 1013. Follow him on Twitter.
Photo by Lance Asper on Unsplash
