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Among some of the rumors that have popped up recently, the possibility of the Miami Dolphins moving up in the draft — some speculate for a quarterback — has began to gain some steam. With that, shortly after franchising Jarvis Landry, there was some buzz about using the tag in this instance was to allow the Dolphins time to potentially look for a partner to deal him.
The Indianapolis Colts sit at No. 3 overall while the Dolphins reside at No. 11. A few days ago I suggested that a handful of potential trade partners with the Colts for that No. 3 selection may have to involve a player with receiving some additional picks possibly as well to make it work. As it turns out, the Colts and Dolphins may have already been in contact regarding Landry.
First and foremost, Landry has reportedly been given the go-ahead to seek a trade from the Dolphins.
Sources: The #Dolphins have given franchise tagged WR Jarvis Landry and his representative permission to seek and facilitate a trade. It will take cooperation from all parties.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 2, 2018
We also have Josina Anderson reporting that at least 2 teams have already begun garnering interest in acquiring Landry’s services. In her report she stated that the 2 teams should would keep her eye on are the Colts and Tennessee Titans.
It seems as though this story is gaining steam, and if the Colts were to find interest in Landry it could go a long way towards smoothing out their issues at receiver. Landry’s tag is in the $16M range and an educated assumption would tell you that if a deal were to be done that at least a 3-year deal would be concocted in order to soften the cap hit to the receiving team.
The Colts do not appear to have any interest in re-signing Donte Moncrief, and Kamar Aiken isn’t even a bandaid option at this point. The Colts don’t have a physical presence within the receiver corps with T.Y. Hilton and Chester Rogers the only options coming back with some expectations attached.
Chris Ballard is a smart guy, though. I understand that Landry is better than any receiver coming out of this draft, but I couldn’t co-sign on a swap that only involved the No. 11 pick and Landry coming back for the No. 3 overall pick. I think the move is a smart one theoretically, however, I believe receiving at least another pick would be the key to this being a success for the Colts.
Additionally, this allows the Colts to focus on their other needs throughout the draft and maybe find a supplemental receiver as opposed to trying to nail down a ‘sure thing’ at the position where — among these prospects — there doesn’t look to be one.