Florham Park – In late January, Warren Sapp had a tip for Sheldon Richardson.
Maybe we shouldn’t use the word “tip.”
Sapp actually had a major issue with Richardson saying he would likely go first overall, if the 2013 draft was held over again.
“As soon as that kid gets off the ‘I think I was better and should have been drafted in a different position,’ maybe he’ll see his future,” Sapp told the Daily News. “Let’s not anoint this kid the next best thing since sliced bread yet.
“If something drives you, it drives you from inside, right? He’s externally saying it. The draft is not going to be re-drafted. So as soon as he wakes up from this nightmare that’s haunting him. That’s the whole point when we talk about football players not carrying baggage. One play at a time. Let that go. He hasn’t let go of the draft. It was Week 15 and he was still talking about it. I was like, ‘Really?’ ”
Sapp also took offense to people comparing Richardson to him.
“Was he defensive player of the year in college? Was he an All-American? You’re comparing him to a first-ballot of Hall of Famer? [Richardson’s] a run stuffer in a pass-first league.”
If Richardson didn’t have enough motivation for this season, this venom should help drive him even more. It should be bulletin board fodder for him.
There was really no reason for Sapp to attack him like this. None.
