Hothead Dolphins star offers the worst reason ever for contract extension
Oh, woe is Jarvis Landry.
The poor, mistreated Miami Dolphins wide receiver is currently stuck in free agency purgatory with his team.
Landry is an unrestricted free agent, per Spotrac, but has repeatedly claimed that he wants to remain with the only team he’s ever played for.
The Dolphins drafted Landry in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft out of LSU.
Landry has been a productive member of the team ever since.
He is a three-time Pro Bowler, and led the NFL in receptions in 2017.
Nobody’s disputing that he’s a talented receiver.
But his recent bellyaching over his lack of a lucrative contract extension shows exactly why he hasn’t gotten one yet.
Landry came out and publicly described his ongoing contract extensions as “disrespectful.”
His agent reportedly sent the Dolphins a counteroffer to the contract extension in mid-December, but the team has yet to respond, per the Miami Herald.
For the Dolphins, they have every right to, and probably should, deliberate on offering Landry a massive extension.
Since Landry was drafted, the team has had exactly one winning season, and zero playoff wins to show for it. Miami is also fielding an extremely expensive defense that has underachieved, and a high-priced quarterback who is injured. It’s fair to ask if the Dolphins can even spare the money for a receiver of Landry’s talents.
But then Landry really put his foot in his mouth by following up with an exceptional display of a lack of self-awareness.
“I displayed I was a team guy,” Landry told the Herald. “I understand not going to OTAs and training camp would raise eyebrows.
“My agent and I talked about being a leader and setting a good example so I silenced all those things by going to OTAs and training camp, by putting the team first and being a team guy.”
First, anyone who’s actively seeking credit for attending a voluntary workout should not get credit.
Second, it’s almost laughable that Landry thinks of himself as a team leader who has set a good example.
Remember when he got into fisticuffs with the Buffalo Bills in a 22-16 home loss to the AFC East division rivals?
The Dolphins head coach certainly does.
“Embarrassing,” head coach Adam Gase said when asked about Landry’s behavior. “Extremely bad.”
Those aren’t the qualities of a true team leader.
So citing his leadership qualities as a reason for getting a lucrative extension is just about as bad of a reason that Landry could possibly offer.
He can cite his stats, cite his durability or cite his never having had a truly elite quarterback throw to him.
But his leadership? Much like his mega-extension, it’s nonexistent.
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