Jets to take 5
Rush for Sheldon’s option
THE Daily News has learned that the Jets will exercise the fifth-year option on defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson’s rookie contract by the May 2 deadline before determining their next move with the 2013 first-round pick (13th overall).
Richardson’s fifth-year option will be for about $8 million in 2017 — the average salaries of the third to 25th highest-paid players at his position— per terms of the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement. The Jets’ decision to pick up the option is a sound, low-risk move for a player that they believe can be a part of the core of the Todd Bowles’ defense for years to come.
The option is guaranteed only for injury until March 2017, so the Jets could theoretically release Richardson before the start of the 2017 league year without any future financial ramifications unless he suffered an injury this year that sidelined him for the entire 2017 season.
Richardson, who served a four-game marijuana suspension last season, might be subject to further league discipline stemming from a highspeed road race in Missouri last summer. He received two years’ probation, community service and a small fine for the incident on a plea deal in January. If Richardson, who is scheduled to make $1.78 million this season, proves he can stay on the straight and narrow path, the Jets ultimately would like to secure a long-term deal for the budding star. “He’s done some good things for us in terms of how he’s handled his business,” GM Mike Maccagnan said in November. “But again, he’s done some things, (so) it’s going to take some time. As we all said early on, it’s kind of up to Sheldon what he wants to do and how he wants to handle himself.”
Richardson, the 2013 Defensive Rookie of the Year and 2014 Pro Bowler, has 16½ career sacks. He had five sacks, 35 tackles and a pair of forced fumbles in 11 games last season.
The athletic Richardson has a higher ceiling than teammate Mo Wilkerson, who has been unable to land a big pay day from the Jets. Bowles even played the versatile Richardson as a standup outside linebacker for about 20% of the snaps last year. The organization could take a waitand-see approach with Richardson by having him play on the fifth-year option in 2017 before slapping the franchise tag on him the following year. The brain trust would like to make sure Richardson’s off-field transgressions last year were an aberration.
“I want to set a good example,” Richardson told the Daily News in November. “I made a few mistakes. I’m not a bad person. I just made two bad choices in my life.”