Despite the Jets passing on a Sheldon Richardson trade at Tuesday’s deadline, the sides’ long-term future is not stable. The team did not just talk to the Cowboys about a deal for Richardson but offered the fourth-year defensive end to several teams, Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News reports.
While the asking price was too high for Dallas’ liking, the Jets were ready to part with the oft-suspended defender who stands to make $8.07MM next season — the last of his rookie contract with the Jets — after Gang Green triggered his fifth-year option in May.
“You can’t just overpay for something even though you may want it and it may be tempting,” Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones said. “We just didn’t feel like the value was there in terms of the trade for us.”
Here’s more on Richardson and the latest coming out of Jets headquarters.
- The mercurial pass-rusher would have been fine with a trade and sees himself as the odd man out amid the Jets’ defensive end glut. “Big business, bro,” Richardson said, via Darryl Slater of NJ.com. “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.” Muhammad Wilkerson occupied this status fairly recently, with perpetual contract talks going nowhere. But after the sixth-year veteran signed up long-term, it’s the player with off-the-field trouble who fits into the short-term fix category. Should Richardson be able to avoid more off-field issues in the next year-plus, he could be a top 2018 UFA. “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 said he would not have wept if traded but merely gotten ready for his next game with his new team. That contrasts with Brandon Marshall, who did not want to leave the Jets. The thrice-traded wideout said, via Brian Costello of the New York Post (on Twitter), he was “literally about to cry” if he’d heard a trade was happening. So, it’s safe to say Marshall was pleased when his agent called him Tuesday afternoon (Twitter link, via Costello) to inform of a trade not occurring. Traded from the Broncos, Dolphins and Bears, the 32-year-old Marshall will finish a second season with the Jets. He has one more season (at an affordable $7.5MM in nonguaranteed money) left on his Bears-constructed contract.
- Ryan Fitzpatrick profiles as a player who is failing in a contract year, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com writes. Geno Smith tearing his ACL and younger Jets backups’ viability not yet being known could help the 33-year-old Fitzpatrick, but he’s thrown seven touchdown passes, 11 picks and is completing barely 56% of his throws. Corry also lists Stephon Gilmore and Latavius Murray among those failing to capitalize on their earning potential this season.
- The Jets claimed and cut Knile Davis on Tuesday, making the latter transaction because of C.J. Spiller‘s signing.
Jets are never going to be good