The Miami Dolphins Made the Right Decision in Trading Jarvis Landry

At first, the Dolphins trade of Jarvis Landry to the Cleveland Browns seemed iffy. Sending away a wide receiver who set reception records in his first four seasons in exchange for a middle- and late-round pick didn't seem like the smartest move. But consider the cash. Soon after the trade, Landry got from the Browns what he had been seeking with the Dolphins: a brand-new, five-year, $75.5 million contract.

Seventy-five-million dollars has a way of putting a player's value in perspective. The Dolphins decided getting something small for Landry was better than shelling out that sort of money.

Turns out the Dolphins were right. They haven't just been fine without Landry on their roster, they've actually been better off. Who saw that coming?
For all intents and purposes, the Dolphins replaced Landry with two outsiders and one man already in-house: ex-Patriots slot man Danny Amendola, ex-Chiefs speedster Albert Wilson, and lightning-fast second-year kick returner Jakeem Grant. To date, this is how the four players have produced this season:

Jarvis Landry: 41 catches, 489 yards, two touchdowns

Albert Wilson: 26 catches, 391 yards, four touchdowns

Danny Amendola: 30 catches, 294 yards, one touchdown

Jakeem Grant: 16 catches, 216 yards, two touchdowns

Now, consider this: The three current Dolphins wide receivers have seen only 14 more combined targeted passes this year than Jarvis Landry alone has seen in Cleveland. The number of targets alone tells fans the Dolphins are a much less predictable team without Jarvis Landry.

While the hip injury to Albert Wilson is a blow to the Dolphins receiving corps and the apparent phasing out of Devante Parker is impactful, depth-wise, that $75 million makes this experiment a success. As hard as it was at the time, the Dolphins made the right move in trading Jarvis Landry to the Browns.