After rumors swirled of a potential trade involving Sheldon Richardson, it appears as though it was close to happening — but with a caveat.
The New York Jets were actively attempting to trade defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson during the draft. Richardson has some prior legal issues, including a marijuana arrest and a resisting arrest charge after attempting to flee a police car.
The Jets also have a very crowded defensive line and have concerns about being able to pay all of their linemen. Ultimately, the Jets never found an offer they liked and decided to keep Richardson.
However, the team may have come closer to a deal than was previously known. Richardson told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News that both the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins wanted to trade for him. However, both teams asked that he take a pay cut.
Richardson is on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract and is due $8.1 Million this upcoming season. With his prior issues and his complaints about playing out of position, neither team wanted to pay him that much money on top of giving up assets in a trade.
Richardson didn’t take a pay cut and is still with the Jets. Ultimately, Richardson knew the Jets were never going to outright cut him with his skill level, so he had no real reason to take a pay cut.
It’ll be interesting to see how the front office handles this situation after the season. With his youth and skill level, many believe he’d be a great fit for a Jets team that’s looking towards the future. But at the same time, the headaches he’s caused may be too tough to ignore.
Either way, the Jets must now hope he can develop into a leader for the young team this season.