The Miami Dolphins went out and slapped the franchise tag on Jarvis Landry Tuesday night. Miami became the first team to use the tag when teams could officially do so starting on February 20th. The tag for a wide receiver is expected to be worth $16.23 million this year. Landry becomes the first tag of the year with DeMarcus Lawrence in Dallas soon to follow.
The team’s official account was the first to report the news:
We have placed the franchise tag on wide receiver Jarvis Landry.
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) February 21, 2018
Miami has next to no cap space to use this offseason. Landry’s asking price was around $14 million per year so it’s unlikely the Dolphins will work out a long-term deal but they will have until July 16th to work out any sort of extension. Ndamukong Suh among others will likely head elsewhere because Miami has next to no cap space to retain Landry. Kenny Stills also makes close to $10 million per year in what is becoming an expensive wideout core in Miami.
Landry, 25, has topped 1,100 yards in two his first four years in the NFL. Landry also reeled in a career-high nine touchdowns in 2017 along with 112 receptions. However, he did only average 8.8 yards per catch which is the lowest of his career. At this point, Landry is really a glorified slot receiver. I was surprised Miami decided to franchise him considering they were shopping him around the deadline but decided to part with Jay Ajayi instead who just won a Super Bowl with the Eagles.
Allen Robinson, Sammy Watkins, and Marqise Lee now lead the wide receiver group out on the free agent market. If your team is in need of a pass catcher this offseason, well, good luck because this group stinks especially now that Landry is off the board.
