The New York Jets should absolutely avoid giving Sheldon Richardson away for peanuts on the dollar, or else it could cost head coach Todd Bowles his job.

All the reports and rumors are saying the New York Jets are going to get rid of Sheldon Richardson. While their mercurial star could be looked upon as a locker room cancer, they should only move him if the price is right.

Well, ESPN’s Rich Cimini said he’d be surprised if the Jets even got that much (second round pick). Now everyone knows that Richardson’s talent is worthy of a first round pick.



Everyone also knows that the Jets are trying to move Richardson, which denigrates his trade value somewhat. He’s also not one of the best citizens on planet Earth as you can tell by his checkered past, which also doesn’t help his value.

But the Jets can’t afford to sell off “blue chip level players” for nothing. Now, what are blue chip players? Those are players that you can build around and are championship level pieces.

Currently, the Jets have Leonard Williams who is a bonafide blue chip prospect, but that’s where the list stops. Muhammad Wilkerson and the aforementioned Richardson were on that list after 2015, but after poor seasons they’re temporarily off the list.



They can find themselves back on it with strong bounce-back seasons. Wilkerson was coming off of surgery and probably rushed his comeback. Which obviously affected his play and he had one of his worst seasons in the league.

While Richardson is in the last year (fifth year option $8 million) of his current deal. The Jets losing him for nothing isn’t a fruitful venture.

But if the current market suggests Richardson is a third or fourth round pick commodity, just wait to collect the compensatory pick next year. What’s the difference?

Richardson has the potential to be one of the best players (defensively) in the NFL. That’s the kind of raw talent he has when he has his head screwed on straight.

The Jets have a lot of needs (OL, corner, edge rusher, etc). If they were able to fetch a second round pick or maybe a trade up scenario in the back of the first, that’d be something I’d entertain. Outside of that, it just doesn’t make sense to get rid of Gotham’s most polarizing stars.

This is a pivotal year for head coach Todd Bowles, he needs as many talented players as he can get to help him win games this upcoming season. While Jets’ owner Woody Johnson didn’t issue out a playoff or bust mandate for the team, you can tell by his comments the pressure is on.

People call me Boy Green for my unwavering dedication to all things New York Jets. I work at The Score 1260 in Syracuse and I'm extremely passionate about sports. I aspire to continue my rise through the business and hopefully I'll end up working for the New York Jets in some capacity.