While Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard may be more bullish than most on the current state of the wide receiver room, the production from the group in 2021 suggests it’s one of the biggest needs on the roster.
We know the Colts won’t be a team to spend heavily at the position with Michael Pittman Jr. emerging as a solid WR1 in the offense. But they should still be keeping their ears to the ground when it comes to opportunities of adding more talent to the room.
One player with a big name that’s likely to hit the market is Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry, whose future with the team is now in doubt as he enters the final year of a five-year, $75 million deal.
The Browns can cut Landry and save $14.9 million in salary-cap space while incurring a dead-cap hit of just $1.5 million, according to Over The Cap. Trading for Landry is not and should not be an option for the Colts.
However, would Landry be a good fit for the Colts if he hit the free-agent market?
As the Colts venture into finding more dynamic talent for the wide receiver room, the archetypes of what they need most will be debated heavily. Some suggest getting a burner to play opposite Pittman Jr. in the formation.
That’s certainly a need, but the Colts simply need reliable talent in the room. There’s a chance T.Y. Hilton retires this offseason and even if he doesn’t, there’s an even stronger chance he doesn’t return to the Colts.
Meanwhile, Parris Campbell still can’t stay healthy and Zach Pascal should be viewed as a WR3 at best. The latter of which is also set to be a free agent this offseason so he’s technically not even on the roster as of this writing.
Landry isn’t the player he once was with the Miami Dolphins and his early years with the Browns. He’s still a solid route runner and is capable of making plays after the catch while working mostly as a Z-receiver. Landry would be more of a possession receiver than anything else in the Colts offense.
His 5.0 yards-after-catch-per-reception mark ranked 16th among all wide receivers with at least 70 targets in 2021, per Pro Football Focus. So he can still make some moves after the catch.
Landry has been a bit more banged up over the last two seasons, logging 71% and 70% of the Browns’ offensive snaps, respectively. From 2015-2019, Landry never saw fewer than 84% of the snaps.
What will keep the Colts out of the market will be Landry’s price. He probably won’t get close to the $15 million annually on his new deal that he had with the Browns but he’s still likely to get paid a decent amount.
The Colts won’t overspend for Landry while other teams won’t mind filling him in as their WR2 if they have the cap space to spare.
So while Landry would be a decent—if not uninspiring—fit for the Colts offense, it’s hard to see Chris Ballard paying up for what would be a complementary piece to the aforementioned Pittman Jr. in 2022.
What do you think, Colts fans? Should Indy pursue Jarvis Landry if he hits free agency? Let us know in the comments below!
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