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Jarvis Landry is one of Miami’s most important players, but he might have to wait until after the 2017 season to see a big pay day.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday that the chances of Landry and the Miami Dolphins signing a contract extension before the start of the regular season seem “far-fetched,” and that one of the chief reasons is Landry’s incentive to play the season out.
With the salary cap only increasing year over year and wide receiver deals becoming more lucrative, Landry knows how valuable a potential contract will be once he reaches the open market. Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was the most recent player to cash in on the inflating market for top tier pass catchers, signing a four-year $68 million deal this offseason. With Landry coming up on a contract year, he and former LSU teammate Odell Beckham Jr. will likely be next in line to find a substantial sum in their bank accounts when they sign their next deals.
There’s also the fact that the Dolphins are in a bind for cash at the moment, having recently spent $10 million for Ryan Tannehill’s replacement at quarterback, Jay Cutler, following Tannehill’s ill-time training camp injury. This unforeseen expense may make it even tougher for the team to justify spending top-dollar on a contract extension before the season instead of waiting to see where the team’s priorities lie at the end of the year.
On top of that, the Dolphins need to evaluate how much money they are willing to infuse into a single position. One of the team’s top wideouts, Kenny Stills, signed a four-year $32 million contract this offseason. Breakout candidate DeVante Parker will also demand an enlarged paycheck relatively soon, with Miami needing to decide whether or not to exercise Parker’s fifth-year option following the 2017 season. This year, the fifth-year option for wide receivers cost NFL teams just north of $13 million.
Jarvis Landry’s agent informed the team that if an extension is not worked out prior to week 1 of the regular season, Landry would not negotiation one until the conclusion of the 2017 season.