Manish Mehta reports that the Jets have officially exercised Sheldon Richardson‘s fifth year option on Monday.
The fifth-year option will run them over $8 million in 2017, but is guaranteed only for injury and won’t prevent them from working on a long-term extension over the next year.
This is one of the easier decisions for teams to match, given that Richardson has quickly become one of the better defensive lineman in the NFL, and is a core piece in the Jets’ defense.
Richardson, 25, was taken with the No. 13 overall pick back in 2013. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $10.054 million rookie contract and is set to make a base salary of $1.776 million for the 2016 season.
In 2015, Richardson appeared in 11 games for the Jets and recorded 35 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles and two pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 30 edge rusher out of 110 qualifying players.
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