Talented Sheldon Richardson on the move again, offers major value

2013 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Sheldon Richardson has made his share of stops around the league and is looking for work once again.

Sheldon Richardson enjoyed quite the debut campaign after the New York Jets made him the 13th overall selection in the 2013 NFL Draft. He followed that up with a Pro Bowl campaign a year later. And his eight-year NFL career would also include stops in Seattle, Minnesota and Cleveland, respectively.

The defensive tackle was released by the Browns after two seasons with the club (via May Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com). The move will reportedly save the franchise a whopping $12 million in cap space.

General manager Andrew Berry has given head coach Kevin Stefanski and defensive coordinator Joe Woods some new toys to play with up front. Earlier this year, the club added defensive tackle Malik Jackson and on Thursday, the club signed versatile Jadeveon Clowney and interior performer Sheldon Day.

Richardson has missed only seven games in eight NFL campaigns and five of those came back in 2015 with the Jets. He was dealt to Seattle in 2017, spent one year with Pete Carroll’s team and then was one-and-done with the Vikings in 2018.

In two years with the Browns, he started 31-of-32 games as well as Cleveland’s playoff split with the Steelers and Chiefs, his first venture into the postseason. During that stint, he totaled at least 60 tackles each season and combined for 7.5 sacks and four forced fumbles while knocking down seven passes.

He could certainly help any number of teams, especially those looking to fortify the middle of their defensive front. The Houston Texans allowed the most rushing yards in the league in 2020 and other teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions, among others, have a glaring hole or two up the middle and could use his services. It would be somewhat of a surprise if he doesn’t find a home fairly soon.