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At this time of the year, we are struggling for news stories, legitimate interest pieces are few and far between, as a result we will read into anything and everything.
The media were granted access to voluntary OTA's this week and it was noted that there were some key absentees from the practise field.
One of those players was Sheldon Richardson. personally I didn't think anything of it, after all these are voluntary workouts and pro athletes sometimes have other engagements to attend to. Nobody knew why Sheldon wasn't there but at the end of the day, it really didn't matter. I saw one beat writer suggest he could be unhappy with his contract, despite the fact he has no choice but to play under his rookie deal in 2015, as restructuring can't occur until post year three.
That didn't make any sense to me and I went about my business, Sheldon comes to work and he works his butt off throughout the season and no players comes with more effort or heart on a Sunday, it wasn't anything to worry about. Apparently Sheldon got a little criticism from a few other sources, and he tweeted a response today.
All I'm hearing from ppl is get to OTA's etc. like I jus wasn't at practice yesterday putting in wrk tho..
— Sheldon Richardson (@Godforshort) May 22, 2015
I have a life outside of football n I chose to enjoy my family a little longer so to u fans that know everything please worry bout yourself
— Sheldon Richardson (@Godforshort) May 22, 2015
We don't know who these people are. I've seen a few tweets about the non-issue, but he must have received enough to provoke a response. In an ideal world, every single player would be at every single workout, but this isn't an ideal world. We know Sheldon will be ready to go when the bell rings, so lets ease up on the criticism. Luckily, most people here at GGN didn't see his absence as a problem.
Todd Bowles wasn't too concerned either, when asked about the situation yesterday, he commented
On whether he expected Sheldon (Richardson) to be here or if his absence had been conveyed to him earlier...
He was not here yesterday and it was not conveyed to me. It is voluntary and Sheldon will probably be here and he can tell you better than I can.