The Miami Dolphins placed the franchise tag on wide receiver Jarvis Landry on Tuesday, the team announced. They will pay him $16 million unless they can reach a long-term deal with him before the deadline or another team signs him to an offer sheet, as it is the non-exclusive franchise tag.
That means that other teams have the ability to sign Landry, it’s just that if the Dolphins don’t match the contract, that team has to send two first-round picks to Miami as compensation. The transition tag pays less and is the one that doesn’t require compensation by the team signing the tagged player.
The San Francisco 49ers have a need at wide receiver, though folks around here have focused less on Landry and more on Allen Robinson of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I tend to think the 49ers don’t need to spend big on a wide receiver right now, but there is plenty of cap space rolling around.
It’s safe to say, though, that they won’t be trying to get Landry, 25, from the Dolphins. He’s a good receiver, a great receiver at times, but his best fit is in Miami where they are unsure of what kind of team they’ll be fielding in the near future. They need a rock like Landry, and I tend to think they’ll get a long-term deal done before Landry signs his tag.