Ravens Trade Rumors: Jarvis Landry Talks Held with Dolphins Last Offseason

The Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins reportedly held trade talks regarding wide receiver Jarvis Landry last offseason, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, but the Ravens "found the asking price to be prohibitive."

Baltimore's prior interest in Landry doesn't mean they'll go all-in on the player in free agency, however, though it's likely they'll at least touch base with him.

Zrebiec noted: "Frankly, I cannot imagine the cash-strapped Ravens paying north of $13 million per year for Landry, but they do like the player and they seem to understand that they need to do something significant to get more offensive talent on the field."

Landry and his agent, Damarius Bilbo, appear intent on courting a contract in that price range. Bilbo made it clear Landry wouldn't take a discount to remain with the Dolphins, per Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post:

"How long has this franchise been around? It's always going to be here. Take a discount? Absolutely not. This may be Jarvis' first and last time to set himself up and his family up. He needs to strike and strike while the iron is hot. Plenty of guys that were drafted ahead of Jarvis have not performed to his level. Look at Jarvis' performance level. If you want to compare him to the T.Y. Hiltons and the Doug Baldwins, those deals were done two or three years ago. It's his time now. He's next man up."

Bilbo also cited Davante Adams when discussing the potential market for Landry.

Hilton makes $13 million per year, Baldwin is at $11.5 million and Adams just signed a four-year, $58 million deal that will pay him $14.5 million per season.

Landry, 25, is coming off an excellent season that saw him catch 112 passes for 987 yards and nine touchdowns. He's now caught at least 84 passes in all four of his seasons and has registered over 1,000 receiving yards twice.

His touchdown production and red-zone presence in 2017 signified a major step forward for Landry, who scored a total of 13 touchdowns in his first three seasons. That will make him one of the top options in a wide receiver class that was weakened by Adams' extension with Green Bay and also includes Sammy Watkins and Allen Robinson.

Dolphins vice president Mike Tannenbaum said the team would like to keep Landry but wouldn't commit further than that.

"Any negotiation we wouldn't comment publicly, but philosophically we want to draft, develop and keep as many of our own as possible," he said earlier in January, per Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. "We'll see what happens with Jarvis and a few other noteworthy free agents. In a perfect world, we keep them all. There's a salary cap, so we'll make those decisions at the appropriate time within the context of what's best for the organization."

As for the Ravens, the team needs to upgrade at wide receiver. Mike Wallace led Baltimore in receiving yards (748), tight end Benjamin Watson topped the team in receptions (61) and the pair tied for the lead in receiving scores (four).

Quarterback Joe Flacco needs weapons, but it remains to be seen if the Ravens are willing to pay top market value for Landry, which is clearly the receiver's expectation.

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from Bleacher Report - Baltimore Ravens http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2755759-ravens-trade-rumors-jarvis-landry-talks-held-with-dolphins-last-offseason