To grasp how high Sheldon Richardson's stock is rising as a Viking in December 2018 one must understand how low it fell as a Jet on July 31, 2015.
The headline in the New York Daily News that day screamed, "Big Apple Idiots." The first sentence asked, "Who's New York's dumbest athlete?"
"Me and Jason Pierre-Paul were on there," said Richardson, referring to the then-Giants defensive end who mangled his right hand with a firecracker. "I got ranked ahead of JPP. Said I was dumber than him blowing his fingers off. Harsh. But, hey, what's New York without drama?"
Richardson turned 28 Thursday. He's in a good spot as the happy, focused father of 2-year-old Riley Rose Richardson. He's also one of coach Mike Zimmer's most coveted type of player _ rarely found three-technique D-tackles with quick-twitch, high motor and 300-pound frame. And he's also the guy who sacked Aaron Rodgers twice in the Vikings' win over the Packers and had three total tackles against the Patriots.
But the first part of 2015 was a darker time for Richardson. The murder of childhood friend Dorance Harvey had him in a bad spot mentally. To the point where "I just kind of fell off the wagon a little bit."
A positive test for marijuana earned him a four-game suspension. Then, within hours of Richardson reporting to training camp, apologizing to teammates and telling reporters the Jets wouldn't have to worry about his name being in the news again, a Missouri prosecutor announced details and charges in an incident earlier that month that started as a 143-mph road race with another car and ended with Richardson being arrested at gunpoint.
So, what would 28-year-old Sheldon say to 24-year-old Sheldon if he could?
"I'd punch him in the back of the head," Richardson said. "For real. Just wake up, kid. Life is bigger than you and your feelings. Honestly, I brought all of this on myself."
Richardson has been paying down a debt for those two incidents ever since.
He was suspended without pay for five games over two years and "then they took about half of my $5 million signing bonus," he said. Then he got traded to Seattle before last season and got lowballed by the Seahawks after last season because, he believes, they knew he'd have a harder time getting a lucrative multiyear deal from a team unfamiliar with him.
They were right. He had baggage but only 1 { sacks in two years after posting 16 in his first three years as the 13th overall pick in 2013, the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and a 2014 Pro Bowler.
The Vikings offered $8 million with $3 million more in incentives for one "prove-it" year. Defensive line coach Andre Patterson laid down the ground rules ahead of time and told him "not to come here if he couldn't abide by them."
"I guess my concerns were he's been with three teams in three years," Zimmer said. "That's always kind of a concern. I think he had some things with the Jets that weren't real positive. But since he's been here, he's been real good as far as studying in the meetings, paying attention and trying to do everything exactly how we've asked."
Can he be trusted with a long-term deal?
"From what I've seen, yeah," Zimmer said. "But you never know when guys get big contracts or whatever."
