Seahawks trade Jermaine Kearse for Jets’ Sheldon Richardson
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks let go of a fan favorite in Kearse. But they pick up a potential Pro Bowler in Richardson. Seattle now appears in full win-now mode. And that is not a bad thing.
The Seahawks have traded for former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. The New York Jets will get Jermaine Kearse. Trading Kearse for Richardson straight up would seem dumb for the Jets. (Although, this is the Jets I am talking about.)
Kearse was well-liked in Seattle. By the team and by fans. Let’s be honest, 12s, while we were frustrated with how Kearse performed in 2016, he felt like one of us. He was undrafted and worked his butt off to achieve the success he did. He made important catches. Kearse also chose poor moments to muff Russell Wilson’s passes as well. Plus, after signing a new contract prior to 2016, Kearse had his worst season. He caught one touchdown passes and caught fewer than 50 percent of his targets.
Richardson, though, offers the Seahawks a potential great internal pass rush. He could instantly fix a problem Seattle had in 2016. He was a first-team Pro Bowl player in 2014 with eight sacks from his defensive tackle position. A front four on obvious passing downs could be Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Frank Clark and Richardson. That is scary for opposing quarterbacks.
Richardson is entering his final year of his current contract and could want big money after 2017. Money Seattle may not be able to give. But that is a problem to solve in the future.
The Seahawks also traded a second-round pick to the Jets. The teams swapped seventh-round picks. This is a trade that, on paper, has much bigger upside for Seattle than New York.
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12s should hope Richardson comes in motivated and ready to fit-in. If he does, the Seahawks defense went from very good to potentially great.