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The Jets got a huge break today. The Jets didn’t dodge a you now what. It was more like a Katyusha Rocket. The verdict was surprisingly light . . .
Sheldon Richardson was suspended for just one game, the first game of the 2016 season for his arrest on July 14, 2015, after leading police on a high-speed chase in St. Louis.
At the time of his arrest, Richardson was charged with resisting arrest and a slew of traffic violations. He went 143 mph trying to avoid police and got caught with a loaded gun in his car. According to police, there was a strong marijuana odor in the vehicle. A 12-year-old and two other adult males were in the car.
Richardson turned off the car’s headlights in an effort to evade the police. At one point, he lost control of the car and slid the rear of the vehicle into oncoming traffic.
The police report stated, “Sheldon Alan Richardson did: Resist arrest by fleeing causing a substantial risk of serious injury or death to any person, and endanger the welfare of a child in the first degree.”
So you can understand the shock that this turned into a one-game suspension.
I don’t know about you, but to me, leading the police on a high speed chase is a pretty serious indiscretion. It not only puts police in great danger, but other vehicles and the people in Richardson’s car. And to turn your lights off during the chase to throw off the police is a quite problematic.
What helped Richardson’s case with the NFL was the light sentence he got in a Missouri court. He pled guilty to resisting arrest, speeding and running a red light, and was sentence to two years probation and 100 hours of community service, and the whole thing comes off his record if he completes the probation without incident.
As far as I’m concerned if you lead the police on a high speed chase, the sentence should be more severe than that. But what do I know. I’m not a legal expert.
So the Jets got a huge break here. Richardson is a one of the best players on their team, so having him miss just one game is a huge for them.
And while the incident was a bad thing, from a contract standpoint, it gives the Jets a leg up on the player.
After three very good seasons, Richardson might have been looking for a new contract at this point.
But when you consider this suspension, and the previous suspension he served for failing a few NFL tests for pot, he has no leverage now.
He’s going to have to play under his current contract his year, and then in 2017, he will have to play under his fifth-year option (for around $8 million) which the Jets have already picked up.
So if entirely possible, the Jets could keep their star-studded defensive line together again in 2017.
Richardson is locked up with the option, Leonard Williams will be in his third year of his rookie deal, and perhaps they get a deal done with Wilkerson next off-season (maybe front-loaded like the offer to Von Miller, which is essentially a two-year deal). The Jets might be able to give Mo a multi-year deal next off-season because the profligate Revis deal dips down in 2017.
Jets fans often think they never get any breaks.
But they got a huge one with this light Richardson suspension.
June 30, 2016
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