New York Jets: How fans feels about Sheldon Richardson

When the news broke out about Sheldon Richardson of the New York Jets and it hit the football world, it was truly shocking to say the least. Take a look below to see exactly what transpired:

Statement of probable cause regarding Sheldon Richardson’s arrest on a variety of charges. (via @sccmo) pic.twitter.com/HBMuPRQZSP

— Rand Getlin (@Rand_Getlin) July 30, 2015

Why Richardson? Why? A couple days after most likely one of the greatest days in recent memory for the New York Jets in Tom Brady‘s suspension being upheld and the official kickoff of training camp, fans receive this news. It literally came out of nowhere, especially after seeing this tweet from Richardson after the first suspension earlier this off season:

I vow to you, this will not happen again. My team will continue to push forward without me to start the season. — Sheldon Richardson (@Godforshort) July 2, 2015

This is going to be the talk of the town as more details continue to flow in. But the Jets will have to continue to push forward without him, possibly for the entire 2015 season. This could be a distraction for a team trying to learn a new offense, defense and just overall embrace the new regime. I wrote an article about the initial Richardson situation several weeks ago and the line that stood out to me from the story was…

“Hopefully for Richardson, this is just a case of being young and stupid and not a preview of things to come for the star defensive end.”

After this most recent news it’s hard to fathom the future for Richardson, so what do the Jets do from here? Reading through coffee with the New York Jets the other day, I saw an article from the Bleacher Report that frightened me, but gave a dash of realism. Sheldon Richardson Allegations Show Some NFL Players Still Don’t Get It by Mike Freeman, he promised Jets fans he wouldn’t do it again and not even a month later this incident occurs.

They have several options here in the grand scheme of things. They could straight out release the talented defensive end or they could trade him but his value is lower than ever. They could also take the young talented Richardson under their wing and try to help this young man face his demons. But realistically the Jets won’t cut Richardson. It’s the way of the NFL since if you’re talented enough, the bottom dollar can look past almost anything. We’ve seen worse situations and players bouncing back to continue their NFL careers after these incidents.

Of course, if Sheldon Richardson were a marginal player he would be an ex-Jet by now. Greater talent = greater tolerance.

— Andrew Brandt (@adbrandt) July 31, 2015

The greater talent equaling greater tolerance isn’t anything new, but I think the strategy they go with is keep him and just play the waiting game. But back to how every Jets fan feels about this, Richardson needs to understand the Jets had one of the best off seasons with a lot of hype heading into the regular season. Jets fans were excited and suddenly, the wind was taken out of our proverbial sails thanks to him.

This was a selfish act by Richardson that will more than likely turn into a longer suspension, maybe even the rest of the 2015 season and beyond. It hurts as a fan to see someone this talented throwing it all away doing these stupid things especially when you’re a fan of the team the player belongs to. I quoted myself earlier saying this was either an act of being young and stupid or hopefully not a sign of things to come.

I’m still hoping Richardson can turn it around, but right now, Jets fans aren’t feeling too optimistic.

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