Landry willing to sit rather than play for tag

The Dolphins and Landry, a former LSU standout Miami selected in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft, have been unable to work out a multi-year deal.

According to a league source, the Dolphins have offered Landry a contract that would pay him an average salary of $13 million a season. Landry, who has set an NFL record for receptions in a receivers first four years, wants a contract that’s in the neighborhood of the four-year, $58 million deal Green Bay gave Davante Adams last December, which paid Adams an $18 million signing bonus and will pay him $32 million in the deal’s first two seasons.

Adams’ average annual salary of $14.5 million will make him the fourth-highest paid wide receiver, behind Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown ($17.0 million), Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins ($16.2 million), and A.J. Green ($15.0 million). The franchise tag price is based on the average of the 10 highest-paid players at each position. If Landry plays on the tag, he’ll earn the highest base salary of any receiver in the league for one season.

However, it’s possible that Sammy Watkins’ next deal, and a new contract for Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans could raise the bar even higher. Watkins is a free agent who also might receive the franchise tag from the Los Angeles Rams, and Evans is slated to earn $13.25 million on the fifth-year option of his contract.

Landry’s camp and the Dolphins met this past week at the NFL scouting combine. The Dolphins granted Landry’s agent Damarius Bilbo permission to discuss the framework of a multiyear deal with other teams, setting up a possible trade that can’t become official until March 14, the beginning of the league’s new year.

“In my case I’ve played four years. Then you get another year of basically not signing me to a long-term deal. In that year anything can happen. Look at guys like Ryan Shazier, who may not have an opportunity to play again,” Landry said, referring to the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker who suffered a severe spinal injury during a game in December while making a tackle in Cincinnati.

“He’s fighting a battle to just walk again. I’m at the point where taking care of my family is the most important thing for me. I put my body on the line for years. I’ve sacrificed my time and my life to make sure that I have this opportunity.”

Because of Landry’s franchise tag, and the impending trade with the Los Angeles Rams that will bring defensive end Robert Quinn to Miami for a 2018 fourth-round pick and swap of sixth rounders, the Dolphins are roughly $20 million over the projected salary cap of $178 million.

Teams must be under the cap on March 14, but the Dolphins have a number of ways they can trim payroll, and are likely exploring a few more trades, and roster moves.