Muhammad Wilkersonwon't sit ouf of minicamp in an effort to get a new deal, but his defensive line teammate, Sheldon Richardson, is putting on a heck of a PR campaign on his behalf.
"He's worth that penny," Richardson told the New York Daily News. "And you know what penny I'm talking about. ... We don't just want J.J. Watt money. We want it all. We want (Ndamukong) Suh money. Hopefully everybody wants that type of bread in this league."
Suh famously signed a gargantuan six-year, $114 million contract with nearly $60 million guaranteed.
Richardson himself enters his third season on a devastating New York Jets defensive line and will need to get paid down the line as well. At the moment, however, he's focused on stomping for his teammate, comparing him to other D-tackles who got P-A-I-D.
"Why wouldn't he?" Richardson said. "If Gerald McCoy can get $100 million, I'm pretty sure my guy Mo Wilkerson can get $100 million."
The truth of the matter is that Wilkerson has zero leverage -- it's one reason a holdout is futile. The drafting of Leonard Williams made Wilkerson essentially expendable. If the fifth-year pro wants a nine-figure contract, he'll likely have to find it on the open market next offseason.
Certainly, the Jets would rather keep Wilkerson at closer to what Richardson called a "team-friendly contract" like the $55 million extension Cameron Jordan signed with the Saints, rather than anything close to $100 million.
Richardson sounded resigned to the fact that if his buddy is going to join the $100 million club it won't be with Gang Green.
"There'll never be another Ray Lewis sticking with the same team their whole career," Richardson said. "Peyton Manning's on a different team ... and that's Peyton Manning. You build your relationships with (teammates), but no matter how strong they get, in the end, you got to realize that they might not be here the next day."
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