Richardson's suspensions are a blessing in disguise. It is the only reason we will be able to afford him.
that's a valid point, it may not be this go around but I would think that the nfl isn't going to get near what they did from either espn or nbc and the rest are hopefully smart enough to see the market isn't there for those 2 products. I think the last go around it was something they HAD to have. neither one of them wanted to be cut out of nfl all together, and they paid the price for it. and in espns case along with a number of other bad decisions it hurt the company pretty badly. my hope and I may be way way way off base here, is that the tv contracts the next time around flatten out or go down a little bit.
I'm not too worried about Sheldon. Here's why. Going forward we'll be joining the ranks of the teams picking in the bottom half of each round. Long after the consensus 'top talent' is off the board. We can still draft top talent (like Noah Spence, top rated pass rusher) but they will usually come with some baggage. If you want our team to be a perennial late round drafter, we'll have to get used to drafting top talent with at least 'some' off field issued. Especially if Mac stays true to his BPA mantra.
I have a lot of interest in Spence to tell you the truth. He's a beast and we forget that Bowles would be on his ass if he f-cked up. Often times we forget that a lot of these problem athletes are picked up by the Cowboys?! And we wonder why they screw up?
I wish I could believe this but it's hard to see that happening. I suspect Richardson will play under 5th year option in 2017 and likely get traded that year. I don't think the Jets are going to pony up for a guy who is one strike away from "please, oh please may I play NFL football again?" Richardson doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to get pragmatic about his contract next year. He's going to want to hit the open market because his chances of getting a huge deal from the Jets vanished at 140MPH on a MO highway in 2015.
If this happens the NFL will have a major culture shock. They've been used to revenues just going up and up. Having them flatten out with the concussion issues in the background would really damage the NFL.
Is there a policy in the NFL where if you go 3 years without discipline, your next offense you aren't counted as a repeat offender? Or is that just MLB?
https://nflpaweb.blob.core.windows....Policy and Program on Substances of Abuse.pdf The short answer is that 2 years of full compliance in stage 2 will result in the player being discharged from the program. That means no positive tests or failure to appear for tests, etc. In stage 3 a player may be discharged at the discretion of the program after 2 years of full compliance but the NFL is is under no mandate to do so. In stage 3 a player could be undergoing scheduled testing for the rest of his NFL career.
Sheldon is in stage 2, correct? So if he were to get through his rookie contract without issue, we can negotiate with him in the peace of mind that he would need to fail 3 more drug tests for a 4 game suspension just like any other player?
It's not 100% clear what his status will be in 2017. That depends on what they do with the current cycle. It's just a very messed up situation to try to sort out smoothly 2 years in advance. In theory Richardson is on his best behavior at this point and will abide all the restrictions and not get tripped up by accident between now and the end of the 2016 season. The problem with marijuana testing is that second hand smoke can lead to a positive result. This means that not only does Richardson have to be on his best behavior but he also has to avoid close proximity to other people who are getting high. It's easy to get tripped up by your friends/significant other/significant other's friends if you don't watch out. Josh Gordon is currently (still) suspended from the NFL because he drank a couple of glasses of champagne on a flight 2 years ago. His teammates were drinking and he went along with that, either not knowing he would be tested immediately upon landing or not knowing that alcohol was prohibited under his Stage 3 program. Here's the thing: this is all on Richardson right now. He is the only person that can make things go smoothly and only by being as good as he possibly can. He was out drag-racing with somebody else likely smoking pot in the car when he was under Stage 2 in the program. That was a slip up that could have cost him his NFL career. Even if he didn't know for sure that he was getting suspended for 4 games before that night he had to know he was in jeopardy. You have to think he's aware of how close he came to losing his career (not to mention possibly his life) that night. You have to think that he's keeping everything as clean as possible right now. That's what I'm hoping is happening. It still is going to be a tough sell for him to get a huge deal in 2017 without all sorts of trapdoors and escape hatches built in to protect the Jets. Richardson is going to have to clearly be worth the money to have any chance and that means playing at a very high level between now and then.
Good points. It's still a risk, but if he clears the program it becomes a lot easier to give him an extension. I'm gonna put a couple eggs back in Sheldon's basket. Not all of them, but maybe 1 or 2.
Yeah lock him up for 5 years at a more reasonable 10mil per year NOW, before he gets past the suspensions and plays like he did in 2014.
I couldn't agree more with the OP. You have to go with the proven talent. Richardson is one drug violation away from a year ban, and he could easily be suspended this season. Williams still has a ways to go. I'd rather keep Mo, let Richardson serve his punishment, and then trade Richardson next off season. Looks like drafting a first round Dlinesman virtually every year since 2011 is finally biting us in the ass.
i think that might be a good thing. there have been alot of things that have been bad that have occurred in the past number of years that are poo pooed because the revenue streams keep going up yay for us. i think it might be time for a little bit of a reality check for nfl owners.
Does anyone know what's holding up the punishment decision? It's been good 8 months, there are no new evidence to be found. So what exactly is stopping Roger from making a decision?
waiting for him to be on great behavior, to be having a good and promising season just to end it unexpectedly not even half way through like he did Aldon Smith. sounds about right.
