Monday is the last day for teams to exercise their fifth-year options on 2013 first round picks, leaving the Jets with two decisions to make.
One of them was an easy one. According to multiple reports, the Jets have exercised the option on defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson. Richardson was the 13th pick in the 2013 draft and has been a standout for the Jets in his first three seasons, leaving little doubt about whether they’d hold onto him for an $8 million salary guaranteed against injury only.
If there were any reasons for pause about Richardson’s contract, they would be the four-game suspension he served to start last season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy and an arrest last summer after being clocked at 143 mph while driving. Richardson avoided jail time with a guilty plea, but could face further league discipline.
The Jets can walk away from the option if Richardson can’t stay out of trouble, but they’d surely prefer to have a productive player at the point of attack for as long as possible.
Cornerback Dee Milliner is the other decision on the Jets’ plate, but the ninth pick in the 2013 draft has played just 20 games over three years with the team because of injuries and hasn’t been particularly effective when healthy.