Jets Could Have A Tough Time Trading DL Sheldon Richardson Next Year?

Jason Cole of B/R reports that the Jets got a “reality check”  earlier this week when they were unable to trade DL Sheldon Richardson ahead of the recent deadline.

According to Cole, the Cowboys, who are desperate for defensive line help, was unwilling to trade for Richardson because of his prior off-the-field issues and the fact that he’ll be a free agent after the 2017 season.

Two GMs have told Cole that the Jets will have a tough time trading Richardson during the offseason, as teams won’t be as desperate to make a move for player with a number of options being available to them.

Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones said Wednesday they decided to not pursue a trade for Richardson in large because they just didn’t want to overpay for a player no matter how talented he is.

“You can’t just overpay for something even though you may want it and it may be tempting,” Jones said, via the Dallas Morning News. “We just didn’t feel like the value was there in terms of the trade for us.”

Cole reported that the Cowboys did, in fact, make an offer to the Jets for Richardson but their offer was obviously not viewed as acceptable by New York.

Richardson is well aware of his situation in New York and referred to himself as the “odd man out.”

“Big business, bro,” he said. “It happens. That’s it. We’ve got three guys that play the same position. We’re all effective. It’s a surplus, so I’m the odd man out.”

After the Jets locked up Muhammad Wilkerson long-term, it became clear that they weren’t going to be able to pay another defensive lineman that kind of money, especially when they have former first-round pick Leonard Williams.

“I just want to play, and yeah, get paid my fair share,” he said. “You can’t do this forever. You want to win Super Bowls and win games and stuff like that. But you also want to make sure you can take care of your family when it’s all said and done and it’s over with.”

Richardson, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2013. He’s currently in the fourth year of his four-year, $10.054 million rookie contract and stands to make a base salary of $1.776 million for the 2016 season.

The Jets elected to pick up Richardson’s fifth-year option a few months ago, which means he’s under team control through the 2017 season and will make a bases salary of $8.069 million.

In 2016, Richardson has appeared in six games and recorded 28 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery for the Jets. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 12 edge defender out of 102 qualifying players.