New York Jets defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson will return to the team this Sunday against the Washington Redskins following a four-game suspension for marijuana and another run in with the law. When healthy and out of trouble, Richardson has All-Pro ability and is one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL. But with he and fellow defender Muhammad Wilkerson nearing the end of their contracts, New York has a tough decision on their hands.
Can the Jets trust Richardson to stay on the right path?
"I think he learned a lot," head coach Todd Bowles said via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. "Something like that really humbles you, I'm sure. He's kept his head clean and been out of trouble, as far as I know. And he's been here all the time. You learn from that and you grow in your 20s when you do something like that. He'll look back in life and learn a lesson from it. Hopefully we can all move on from it."
Bowles sounds confident that Richardson has learned his lesson. But are those within the organization who actually cut the pay checks as sure?
"There isn't enough money to satisfy Richardson and fellow defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson, whose offseason contract extension talks revealed a cavernous divide in how both sides value him," Mehta wrote.
"The Jets will eventually have to choose between Richardson and Wilkerson. Every indication is that Richardson is their preference if he stays out of further trouble. The organization can conceivably keep both players for another year by applying the franchise tag on Wilkerson next season."
Another possibility Mehta puts forth is using Wilkerson, who was a second-team All-Pro in 2013 and has recorded 3.5 sacks in four games this year, as a bargaining chip to move up in next year's draft for a quarterback. At just 25-years-old, Wilkerson is the type of young and proven talent several teams would covet.
But Richardson has the ability to be a defensive franchise player and will likely be rewarded as one if he can keep himself out of trouble.
