With just two weeks remaining before the NFL draft, Sheldon Richardson remains a Jet. The question is: Will he still be one after the draft is over?
The Jets were expected to trade Richardson this offseason after dangling him before the trade deadline last year. So far, though, there have been no reports or talk of any potential deals. The Jets’ front office likes to keep things quiet, so that does not mean nothing is going on, but nothing has leaked.
Trading Richardson never was going to be an easy proposition, and perhaps the Jets are just not finding any takers. The 26-year-old defensive lineman/linebacker is immensely talented. He won the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2013 and went to the Pro Bowl in 2014. But off-the-field issues, suspensions and a recent drop-off in production have made him more difficult to trade than a few years ago.
Then, there is his contract situation. Richardson, entering the final year of his deal, is scheduled to make $8.1 million this season. He has not been shy about his desire to land a huge contract, with some speculation he would seek a $100 million deal.
Any team dealing for Richardson surely will want to have a long-term pact worked out with him before finalizing a trade.
That might complicate a draft-night trade, which has been the source of speculation recently. It is unlikely a team would send the Jets a draft pick for a player they only would have control over for one year. It is possible his agent, Ben Dogra, is speaking to teams already, gauging who would be willing to meet his contract requests.
Dogra could then go to the Jets and tell them what teams would be amenable to a trade.
The next hurdle to clear would be the draft compensation the Jets are seeking. It was reported the Jets wanted a first-round pick for Richardson when they tried to trade him last season. There is no way they could get a first-rounder for him now. The feeling around the league is a fourth-round pick is about as much as they can hope for. Would general manager Mike Maccagnan ship Richardson out for a fourth-rounder? That would have been inconceivable as recently as a year ago.
But the Jets could be motivated to move on from Richardson. He was suspended to start the 2015 season (drug policy violation) and the 2016 season (personal conduct policy violation). Coach Todd Bowles benched him to start the Dolphins game in November last year for being late repeatedly.
Then, there is Richardson’s on-field production. He had just 1.5 sacks last year and was invisible at times, though the coaching staff had him playing out of position at times.
The Jets have a glut of defensive ends, with Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams also at the position. Trading one makes sense, and Wilkerson, who just got paid, and Williams, a rising star, are not going anywhere. That leaves Richardson.
In the end, Maccagnan may not find a trade partner willing to give Richardson a deal and the Jets the draft compensation they seek. He could let Richardson play out the 2017 season and then let him walk as a free agent next year, hoping to get a compensatory pick in 2019.
The drama in this draft won’t just be about whom the Jets pick in the first round, but what they do with Richardson, the man they picked in the first round four years ago.
