Dolphins have to move forward without Jarvis Landry

Adam Gase has no choice but to improve an offense without arguably it’s best player, Jarvis Landry.

So as the dust settles from the Landry trade I think some things need to be put into perspective. This was an ugly divorce. It’s pretty clear both sides burned their bridges in this negotiation, and the aftermath of it.

You had information leaked to the Herald that didn’t look kindly on Landry and his agent responding in kind. It was pretty ugly. It’s pretty clear with the tactics used that the team had no intention of giving him a King’s ransom. It was also pretty clear Landry was serious when he said he wanted to be one of the highest paid receivers in the NFL.

As that situation unfolded, I think everyone knew deep down Landry wouldn’t be a Miami Dolphin in ’18. Then the team chose to use the Franchise Tag on him in what turned out to be a smart move. You may think Landry was worth more than what Miami received in return, but the truth of the matter is in these cases you generally get nothing. It was only because they took the risk of tagging him that they were rewarded with a couple of draft picks. A 4th in 2018, and a 7th in 2019.

The part that is overlooked by many is the team also saved $16M in the process, and a huge potential contract going forward. Landry is a record-breaking slot receiver. That is a fact. But, it is also a fact he is not a game breaking WR. That’s not a knock on him as they were quite fortunate to have his services for four seasons, but he’s limited.

He wanted to be paid like he was the complete package. That couldn’t happen here with our cap situation unless we chose to stay stagnant.

Instead, the team decided the $16M and 2 mid-draft picks would give them a better opportunity to be competitive, and I agree.

I was never quite happy with the offense relying on Landry as much as it has. 100 touches are too much for a player who can’t take it the distance with any regularity. What they did lose was a guy who usually comes up big in big moments and they’ll need to find a way to replace that along with his high energy.

My priority for this offense would be to straighten out the offensive line early in camp so they have some time to gel. Secondly, it would be to draft one of the top 3 TE prospects in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. Lastly, it would be settling on a slot receiver to take his place. Maybe that guy is Carroo? Or maybe they have a different plan altogether. Whatever the plan is it has to make us a more diverse offense that is tougher to defend, rather than force-feeding a slot receiver who has limitations to his game.

I’ll miss watching Jarvis Landry, but I think if they play their cards right the offense could actually be better off with him in Cleveland. We shall see.