Todd Bowles displayed a range of emotions when addressing the recent arrest of defensive end Sheldon Richardson, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post. However, the coach’s message was clear: the Jets were more concerned about the person than the player.
“Right now I’m just worried about getting him help,” Bowles said. “I’m not even worried about the football player. Like I said, we can win without him. It will probably be more fun with him, but we’re prepared to win without him. The biggest thing is working on him as a person. When things like that happen, it’s not when he’s getting back on the field, it’s: Can he get his life together?
“There’s a problem there and we’ve got to try to help him.”
Let’s take a look at some more reactions to the former first-rounder’s arrest…
- Following Richardson’s arrest, Muhammad Wilkerson should gain some leverage in his quest for a new contract, writes George Willis of the New York Post.
- Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post tweets a bit of irony: Richardson had previously been pushing the Jets to give Wilkerson an extension, and “his issues might force [the] team to do so.”
- Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News believes Richardson deserves another chance and should be given an opportunity to regain the organization’s trust.
- Several of Richardson’s teammates came out and defended the embattled defensive end. “That’s my brother and I have his back. I can’t turn my back on him right now. This is when he needs us the most,” Damon Harrison told Howie Kussoy of the New York Post. “Anytime your brother tells you something, you want to believe him. We’re here. We have no choice but to believe him. He may have to build some trust back with some people on an individual basis, but that comes with time. That’s nothing that’s going to happen overnight.”
- “We just want the best for Sheldon,” added teammate Willie Colon. “It’s not about how we feel. It’s his career, it’s his lifestyle and we just want him to be a better person off the field and he knows that. We’re all rooting for him.”