Free agent Landry should cash in with new contract
Receiver projected to get five-year, $69 million deal.
If Dolphins slot receiver Jarvis Landry tests the waters of free agency next month, he’s probably going to like what he hears.
There should be at least several teams lining up for a shot at a 25-year-old who aver- aged more than 1,000 yards and 100 catches over the past four seasons. Using a variety of factors, the sports finance website Spotrac projects his market value at a deal worth $69 million over five years, an average of $13.8 million per year.
The main comparisons Spo- trac used to determine a price tag forLandry were contracts signed by Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins, Indianapolis’ T.Y. Hilton, the Los Angeles Chargers’ Keenan Allen and Cincinnati’s A.J. Green. Those deals were signed between 2015 and ’17 and came out to an average salary of $13.9 million.
The most recent one was Hopkins’, worth $81 million over five years ($36.5 million guaranteed). That contract came after Hopkins put up 317 catches, 4,487 yards and 23 touchdowns in his first four years.
If Landry stays, he would have a chance to be one of the best players in franchise history — “he could be one of those legendary guys,” Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor said recently after watching Landry during the Pro Bowl. “He really has the talent. He has the commitment. He loves the game of football. That’s the biggest thing.”
Does Taylor believe Landry is going to stay with the Dolphins? “We hope,” Taylor said. “In this day of free agency, you never know what happens. But listen, guys might get one bite at this apple. So I don’t begrudge a guy at all if they go and take care of themselves financially.”