Dolphins Jarvis Landry’s pool of interested teams is drying up

Jarvis Landry is watching as his stock apparently is starting to dip and teams that were once interested in his services are backing out.

As the week started Jarvis Landry was set to become a very rich man. He still will be but the initial fanfare that surrounded him being traded is starting to go out. Teams like the Bears, 49’ers, Panthers, Colts, Browns, and Ravens have all been rumored to have interest in the reigning NFL receptions leader.

It appears now those interested parties are no longer looking at Landry as a possibility and this puts the leverage back in the Dolphins court. The Panthers have stated they are no longer interested according to a local Charlotte media member. The 49’ers are pulling away as well deciding it is cheaper to find a slot guy in the draft. The Colts haven’t made any noise at all and typically owner Jim Irsay can’t stop talking when something is about to go down.

There is still possibilities with the Bears, Browns, and Ravens but compensation will be an obstacle and Landry’s agent seems to be turning off teams with the high salary demands that sit around $15 million per season. It was reported on Thursday that Landry doesn’t have any interest in coming off that number. The problem is other teams do have a problem with that number and are starting to balk at the asking price.

The 49’ers and the Panthers have both reportedly backed off their interest and the other teams may not be far behind. As more teams back away from Landry’s asking price the more leverage the Dolphins get in this situation. Miami has already said they will keep him on the $16.22 million franchise tag if they can’t trade him and that no long-term deal will happen.

This is important because Landry may not have a choice in the matter. Miami can nix any trade they do not see as fair compensation and Landry can’t change that. Conversely Landry can nix any trade to a team he doesn’t want to play for. Until he signs his tender.

Once Landry signs his tender, and eventually he will sign it, Landry loses all the leverage. Miami can trade him to whomever they want and Landry can’t say no. Of course if a trade is worked out Miami wouldn’t do that. Landry however is playing with his financial future if he continues down this path.

$16 million is a lot of money but in this case, it could represent the only large payout for Landry if he gets injured. At some point, Landry has to weigh whether or not his future is financially secured at $13 or $14 million a season for the next four or five years or if his pride and ego take the $16 million and thus risks his future.

Landry’s agent apparently has turned off some teams and no one seems to be beating down the door right now for what amounts to a slot receiver. Landry wants to be paid like a top five NFL receiver but is he really a top five? His reception totals are deceiving in the sense that he is an outlet receiver. He brings 100% effort on the field but is he in the same class as a Julio Jones or an Antonio Brown?

This is where NFL teams seem to be drawing the line as it relates to Landry. It’s rare that a talent such as his is hitting the open market but at the same time, Landry is pricing himself out of the market with an unrealistic contract demand.