When safety LaRon Landry signed a one-year deal with the Jets after several injury-riddled seasons, it was seen as a “prove it” deal for a player trying to show he was capable of staying healthy enough to warrant a sizable long-term commitment from an NFL team.
Landry did pretty well on that front. He played all 16 games and played well for a Jets team that’s struggled to get good play at safety over the years. Landry made the Pro Bowl and he’s almost certain to hit the open market thanks to a clause in his contract that bars the Jets from giving him a franchise tag.
Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork reports that Landry is looking for at least $6 million a season in a new deal, a price tag that explains why the conventional wisdom in New York is that Landry will be moving on after one year in green. That would put him in the neighborhood of the best-paid safeties in the game, a neighborhood Landry fits in when he’s playing as well as he did in 2012.
The question interested teams will have to answer is how confident they are that Landry’s health will hold up and allow him to continue playing at that level. If more than one team feels strongly on that front, Landry has a good shot of hitting that number.