Baltimore Ravens Should Pursue Jarvis Landry – But at the Right Price

The Baltimore Ravens have been linked to trade rumors involving Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry, but they can’t overpay for him.

The Baltimore Ravens have been linked to trade rumors involving Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry, and there is no denying that Landry would significantly improve an anemic Baltimore Ravens passing offense, but they need to make sure they don’t overpay for him.

The Ravens have a significant need at wide receiver, this isn’t news. Their passing game was the weakest part of their offense last year and perhaps the weakest part of the entire team, and part of that was a lack of talent at the wide receiver position.

Jeremy Maclin and Joe Flacco never quite developed the chemistry that many had hoped they would, not to mention Maclin dealt with some injuries. Mike Wallace performed fairly well, but now he and Michael Campanaro are both going to be free agents this offseason, and there’s talk that the Baltimore Ravens might release Maclin and Danny Woodhead to increase their salary cap space.

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Aside from Maclin, that leaves just Chris Moore, Breshad Perriman, and Quincy Adeboyejo on the roster currently, along with DeVier Posey, whom the team intends to sign once free agency begins.

So yea, the Ravens really need a wide receiver, and Landry would be an excellent slot receiver on the team, but the Ravens don’t have much in the way of cap space (in fact, they’re going to be bottom-six in the league), and they can’t overpay for Landry.

Landry’s reported asking price is $14.5 million, which is a lot of money for a slot receiver. In fact, there are only five other wide receivers earning over $14 million next year, and they are A.J. Green, DeAndre Hopkins, Antonio Brown, Davante Adams, and Julio Jones. Outside of Adams, all of those players have averaged at least 13.5 yards per completion on their career, whereas Landry is just at 10.1 for his career.

Landry is good for short yardage, having just four catches of 25 yards or more last year, but he’s not a deep receiver, and he’s not someone you pay $14 million for in a single year, especially when you have as little cap space as the Baltimore Ravens.

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There will be other wide receivers available, someone like Jordy Nelson would potentially be a good addition for the Ravens, and the team could draft one or two receivers as well, so there’s no reason the team should feel pressured to grab Landry, especially if it’s not for the right price.