Suspension over, Jets' Sheldon Richardson discusses tumultuous offseason

There is no denying that the New York Jets' Sheldon Richardson is one of the league's best young d-linemen, a Pro Bowler last year after just his second season in the NFL.

But he also showed himself to be a bit of a knucklehead this offseason, earning a four-game suspension for flunking a marijuana test (tough to do since players are tested only once a year and usually during training camp); just days after he learned he'd be suspended, it came to light that Richardson got arrested in his native St. Louis in July for drag racing. He was clocked driving 143 MPH with a 12-year-old as a passenger and legally owned and loaded gun in the car with him.

Back at practice this week, Richardson discussed his to-this-point-regrettable 2015 with Newsday's Kimberley Martin, and revealed that a Jan. 30 incident affected him deeply.

"It's been a rough year for me. Hardest year of my life. And I'm trying not to be this low again," Richardson said.

His close friend, Dorance Harvey, was killed on Jan. 30.

"I just wasn't used to losing somebody that close to me," he added.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Harvey, 23, died from a gunshot wound to the neck after his car was chased by two dark-colored vehicles; the occupants of the cars fired "multiple shots" at Harvey's car. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Richardson told Martin that he had a hard time coping with the depression that followed his friend's death, and that he didn't grasp how reckless he was being on July 14 when he was allegedly street racing in his Bentley.

Writes Martin, "Richardson...said his absence from the team challenged him 'more mentally than physically.' But he said his twice-a-week meetings with the team psychologist, sometimes for 'an hour or two, depending on the conversation,' have helped."

Richardson said talking to the psychologist was different at first, but has become easy. He played the doctor in chess and won in 15 minutes.

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Vowing that he will never mess up off the field again, Richardson said he will think every day about how his actions affect his family, his teammates and himself.

Before his suspension and arrest, "I really just didn't understand the meaning of [being a] public figure. I just love playing football and being able to support my family," Richardson said.

And Harvey, like others in his life, would probably be reminding Richardson of what he represents.

On Oct. 5, a Missouri judge postponed Richardson's hearing on charges related to his arrest; he has pleaded not guilty to five misdemeanor charges, including resisting arrest.

Richardson is re-joining one of the strongest defensive lines in the league, a group that features Mohammed Wilkerson, Damon Harrison and rookie first-rounder Leonard Williams. Richardson expects to jump right in and harass quarterbacks just as they've been doing.

"I'm coming to eat, too," he said. "No breaks for quarterbacks."