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Keidel: Jets Don't Have To Love Richardson, But They Should Definitely Keep Him

By Jason Keidel
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We know that an NFL team's tolerance toward a player is often commensurate to his talent.

If a practice squad player gets popped for DUI, he's gone. No questions, no answers, no regrets. But what if you weigh more than 300 pounds, stop the run like a road block, and can attack the quarterback like a lion?

Sheldon RIchardson is a very valuable player. In a league that still runs roughly half the time, he can plug the middle. In a league that has become pass-happy beyond compare, he can bull-rush the QB up the middle, which is among the rarest abilities.

He also got suspended for four games before this season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. And then drove his car over 140 mph., with a child in the car, the smell of weed wafting from the front seat, and a gun within arm's reach.

After his suspension was announced, he assured us we would not hear his name in vain again, knowing damn well about his cinematic joyride -- which was punctuated by resisting arrest.

Yet he's still a Jet. But for how long? Once he spins through the car wash of legal and labor proceedings, it's likely he will be banned for the season. He's earned that, as "Knucklehead" doesn't do his actions justice.

Should the Jets cut him? Wash their collective hands of a head case? They still have Muhammad Wilkerson, and stud Leonard Williams so fortunately fell into their draft laps. So you could say the Jets have the latitude to let Richardson walk. Yet there will be a dozen teams speed-dialing him by the time he leaves the parking lot. He's 24, and if he gets his head right -- certainly not assured -- he's looking at a string of Pro Bowl appearances.

So it would be sanctimonious of me, or almost any avid NFL fan, to say the Jets should jettison Richardson. Because the moment they do, I'd wonder if my Steelers could fetch him from the scrap heap.

While Richardson's actions have become sadly common among pro athletes, his case is at the crux of a an old question: Is giving him another chance a matter of forgiveness or poorly-veiled avarice? Everyone will preach the former and practice the latter.

Make no mistake, there will be a conga line of general managers waiting for Richardson if he's released by the Jets. For their part, all parties involved are belching the corporate cliches about family and unity, the typical sports Omerta after every gaffe from a gifted player.

Has he been shamed enough to get it? Former Jet Laveranues Coles warned Richardson of "Superman Syndrome" -- something most men feel at his age, which must be infinitely more pronounced for a pro football player. This drama has been in syndication for decades. Some players, like Cris Carter, rebound and run all the way to the Hall of Fame. Others, like Maurice Clarett and Lawrence Phillips, retreat all the way to prison.

So, frankly, the Jets should just keep Richardson, because they have little to lose. His physical talents are too uncommon, even if his metaphysical gaps are way too common.

Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel

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