Chiefs receive: Defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson
New York Jets receive: 2017 4th round pick (132 overall)
The trading block for Sheldon Richardson hasn’t quite reached Richard Sherman levels of obviousness, with both sides publicly asking for ideas, but the Jets are also making no secret of their goals to trade their talented yet troubled defensive end. For the Jets, it’s looking more like addition by subtraction at this stage. Richardson makes a shade over $8 million, so they’d not only recoup those costs at this point but they’d gain a draft pick in a very talented draft class. Even more importantly, they would get rid of an argumentative player who has been suspended multiple times and who sometimes has difficulty being on time to a job that pays him $8 million to be there.
That might roll off the tongue like a list of reasons to NOT trade for Richardson if you’re another team, but there’s a reason the Jets can even try to get something for him in the first place: he’s an incredible talent on the field. Clearly Richardson’s overstayed his welcome with the Jets, but coming on to another team, it’s easy to expect Richardson would be on his best behavior. After all, he’s playing for the big money contract bound to come his way next offseason, so staying the course for a full season is well within Richardson’s best interests.
Richardson would immediately be the biggest disruptor along the defensive front not named Chris Jones. In fact, the front line would be unstoppable with Bennie Logan also in the fold along with Jones and whoever is left of Allen Bailey and Jaye Howard. The Jets have forced Richardson on the edge, but in the middle, he’s a beast with few peers which is why the Jets were initially looking for first round compensation before further bridges were burned.
With the trade, Richardson would also enjoy a homecoming of sorts as a Missouri alumni and St. Louis native. It’s possible he even likes being in K.C. (and out of the Big Apple spotlight) enough to stay for the long haul. And then there’s this: if he does leave for greener (read: richer) pastures, the Chiefs would recoup their initial draft investment with a compensatory pick that would likely end up being a third rounder. In other words they could match or best their initial investment just by letting him play for a year and then walk.
Trading for Richardson is an all-in move that would make the defense elite, free up the pass rushers like never before and allow the secondary to force more takeaways than ever. In other words, the Chiefs could be even more Chiefs-like in 2017. And in the end, they get their draft pick in 2019 back again.