Jarvis Landry put a deadline on contract extension talks: The start of the 2017 season.
The agent for Dolphins' star receiver, Damarius Bilbo, told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, that Landry won't hold out over a new contract, but also doesn't want to negotiate once the regular season begins.
"The ball is still in their court; we are happy to go into a fourth year healthy and eager to put another year in the books," Bilbo told Jackson.
"Why get mad over something that he signed as a four-year deal? It is what it is. There will be no ill will. He has never considered a holdout. He would never consider not getting better at football."
Landry, a second-round pick in 2014, is set to make less than $900,000 in the final year of his rookie contract. While the wideout wants to remain in Miami long-term, Bilbo said the regular-season deadline isn't designed to pressure the Dolphins into doing a deal, but rather so Landry can focus on the season.
"We want to respect the Dolphins," Bilbo said. "When the season kicks off, we want to continue to respect that. We don't want every game to be about a new contract. This is not a tactic; that is not an approach. This is who Jarvis is and what he wants out of the upcoming season."
The 24-year-old receiver set the NFL record for most receptions in the first three years of his career with 288. He's gobbled up 3,051 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns in three years.
"Who's the guy that the Dolphins get the ball in their hands when they've got to get something going?" Bilbo asked. "He's the heartbeat. He's the sparkplug of that offense."
Bilbo told Jackson that while the Dolphins indicated they want to keep Landry beyond 2017, the sides have not discussed money.
If an extension doesn't come before the player-imposed Sept. 10 deadline, it appears Landry is comfortable spending 2017 as one of the most underpaid players in the NFL. This is where we should point out that if Miami offered a massive contract extension to Landry's agent in the middle of November, we doubt he'd decline it simply because there was a fungible deadline put on the process in June.
The Dolphins could decide to wait until after the season to do a big-money extension, or the team could franchise tag Landry for around $15 million in 2018. Barring a catastrophic injury, Landry's payday is coming at some point.
