If Rams let Watkins walk, should Landry be a potential trade target?

Should the Los Angeles Rams consider Jarvis Landry as a trade target if Sammy Watkins signs elsewhere?

In a matter of time, the Los Angeles Rams will have a better idea of what the future holds for Sammy Watkins, as the wide receiver will either be playing under the franchise tag or testing free agency to see where he will end up playing for the 2018 season. Last August, the Rams acquired the former first-round pick from the Buffalo Bills to finally give Jared Goff a speedy wideout to work with, and while the numbers may not stick out like other players at his position, there’s no question that Watkins was a valuable member of the offense last season.

Catching 39 passes for 593 yards may not seem like anything to brag about for someone like Watkins, but also keep in mind that eight of those catches happened to be in the end zone. Not to mention, the extra attention Watkins would receive from opposing defenders benefitted some of his teammates like Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, so it’s easy to understand why Los Angeles is weighing out all options in regards to their wideout.

As easy of a decision as it would seem to use the franchise tag on Watkins, let’s not forget the Rams may prefer to use that option on Lamarcus Joyner since replacing him at safety could be more difficult. With this in mind, nobody would be surprised if Los Angeles did in fact end up using the franchise tag on Joyner while allowing Watkins to hit free agency, which is where the long shot possibility of Jarvis Landry comes into play.

Despite recently placing the franchise tag on Landry, the Miami Dolphins have also indicated how they would be willing to trade the former LSU wideout since there has clearly been uncomfortable tension between the two parties dating back to last season. No matter how much the Dolphins want everything to work out, keeping Landry around seems like it’s only going to continue causing unnecessary drama, which is why nobody was truly surprised to hear the news of how the team would be willing to listen to trade options.

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Acquiring Landry won’t be easy since the Rams have already surrendered plenty of future draft picks between the Watkins deal from last year along with the recent trade involving Marcus Peters, but it can’t hurt to at least explore the option. For obvious reasons, this possibility of Landry would immediately be ruled out if Los Angeles worked out a deal with Watkins, but until anything becomes official, the Rams would be wise to consider all options, especially when taking into consideration that Landry has played in every game over the last four seasons for the Dolphins while catching 400 passes in the process.