Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that NFL teams have been calling the Jets about the availability of DL Sheldon Richardson. According to Rapoport, there were talks about a potential trade.
Richardson’s suspension stems from him pleading guilty to resisting arrest for a high-speed chase with cops last July. Some thought Richardson could be suspended multiple games for the incident, but he received just a single-game ban.
The Jets elected to lock up Muhammad Wilkerson a few months ago and have former first-round pick Leonard Williams, so they could face a tough situation when it comes to locking up Richardson up.
Richardson mentioned that seeing time at outside linebacker should help his odds of securing a better contract at some point.
“I think it’ll give me more money. Just to be honest,” Richardson said Friday, via the New York Daily News. “My film don’t lie. You took a three-technique that was drafted in the first round and put him at outside linebacker and he held his own, that’s just building up a resume for that.”
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.
We’ll have more regarding a potential trade involving Richardson as the news is available.
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