Jets May Attempt To Trade Sheldon Richardson & Calvin Pryor, Several Players In Danger Of Losing Roster Spots

Rich Cimini of ESPN reports that Marcus Gilchrist, S Calvin Pryor, WR Eric Decker, CB Buster Skrine and DL Sheldon Richardson are all in danger of losing their roster spots.

According to Cimini, the Jets could attempt to trade Pryor and Richardson of this group during the offseason.

Cimini adds that one player who appears to be safe is veteran LB David Harris.

A few weeks ago, Cimini mentioned that the Jets will “almost certainly” attempt to Richardson in the next few weeks, as it would make sense for them to try to get something in return for him now, as opposed to losing him as a free agent next year and waiting to get a compensatory pick in 2019.

While the Jets may be looking for as much as a first-round pick in return for Richardson, Cimini suggested that they may have to settle for a third-round selection in the end.

Richardson is clearly a talented player, but he’s also coming off of a disappointing 2016 season in which he produced just 1.5 sacks and there are concerns about his character and the fact that he’s previously been suspended.

The Jets reportedly spoke with the Cowboys last year, so it’s possible that they could resume trade talks in the coming months.

Richardson, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2013. He played out his the final year of his four-year, $10.054 million rookie contract but the Jets elected to pick up his fifth-year option last year, which means he’s under team control through the 2017 season and will make a bases salary of $8.069 million.

According to OverTheCap.com, trading Richardson would free up $8,069,000 of available cap space while creating no dead money.

In 2016, In 2016, Richardson appeared in 15 games for the Jets and recorded 62 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, two recoveries and two pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 31 edge defender out of 109 qualifying players.

Pryor, 24, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2014. He’s currently in the final year of his four-year, $8.56 million contract and stands to make a base salary of $1,587,717 for the 2017 season.

It’s worth mentioning that the Jets will have to decide whether to pick up his fifth-year option in the coming months.

According to OverTheCap.com, trading Pryor would free up $1,587,717 of available cap space while creating $1,136,955 in dead money.

In 2016, Pryor appeared in 15 games for the Jets and recorded 62 tackles, no interceptions, a forced fumble and five pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 73 safety out of 89 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding the Jets as the news is available.