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The Jarvis Landry saga has reached critical mass. These negotiations were destined to become contentious when Miami failed to sign him prior to the 2017 season.
There are reasonable expectations and points to ponder on both sides, but just the mere fact that Landry has not already signed is a clear indication, he is swinging for the fence. And why not, these players are lucky to get one shot at a big payday and they should go for the bank when the opportunity arrives.
From Landry's side, there's a lot to be happy with. He owns the NFL record for the most catches in his first 4 seasons and will own the record for 5 shortly into the 2018 season. While players like his buddy OBJ or Antonio Brown have spent multiple games on injured reserve, Landry has been on the field proving his longevity and toughness.
When things are going well, we hear how Juice Landry is the spark that ignites the Miami offense. His enthusiasm rubs off on the entire team and generates jolts of energy leading to big plays.
There's one other item of significance that should not be overlooked when thinking about whether Miami should pay Jarvis Landry...
In four years, Landry has made a grand total of $3,474,911.
Miami has had the NFL's leading receiver in his first 4 seasons at a paltry $875,000 per season.
The Dolphins certainly don't want to make that number public even though it's very easy to find. Landry has been grossly underpaid regardless of what the Dolphins want the public to believe.
On the negative side...
Landry's agent has played some media cards recently suggesting Landry has put up these catch numbers while playing with inferior talent at the QB position. This is a terrible negotiating tactic. Throwing other players under the bus is what Miko Grimes is good for, not a professional agent even if he believes it's true.
Damarius Bilbo basically let the cat out of the bag with this one single statement. If Landry did not believe this was true, he would never have put this thought prominently in the mind of his agent. They may now reverse course and say it was taken out of context or it is fake news, but it's too late. We know now what Jarvis thinks and why these negotiations have taken so long.
We had this romantic idea that Jarvis Landry was the yin to OBJ's yang. We thought all along we got the more humble version of the Beckham side show. What we got was a player who desperately wants out of Beckham's shadow, for his own moment in the spotlight.
Show me the money!
All Damarius Bilbo had to say was, "my guy has been playing at a Pro Bowl level for the Miami Dolphins at bottom basement prices." Period, plain and simple, but he threw out some dirty laundry and started a dumpster fire.
From the Dolphin's perspective, that's exactly what they've been dealing with. A player who should keep his head in difficult situations, but instead loses his cool and costs his team numerous foolish penalties that lead to losing games. The player obviously doesn't recognize his own faults or these poor emotional decisions would have been corrected.
The same player that doesn't study well, doesn't always run proper routes, has now allowed a locker room leadership issue to bubble to the surface thanks to his own agent. When the team says there are locker room leadership issues and the agent says, "he has not had the greatest QBs throwing to him." A tiny crack appears and we get to see inside the locker room fraternity for a brief moment.
$875,000 a year for 4 years is chump-change in comparison to Landry's performance on the field. Even if the Dolphins pay Landry $15 million for the next 4 years, it only averages out to about $8 million a year over 8 seasons including his first 4.
Why the contention from Bilbo? Why the mud slinging when all he has to say is, "Jarvis Landry is well worth $8 million a season, even as a slot receiver."
The only thing that makes sense is, Landry is unhappy with his QB situation. Hence, he is unhappy with the coaches and management backing and paying a mediocre QB room...
QB - Coaches - Management... Perhaps Jarvis is right, they all suck and he should move on.
Otherwise, he should fire his foolish agent. Admit there are things he needs to work on and negotiate with numbers, not dumpster fires...
