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          How the Jets plan to replace Sheldon Richardson on defensive line

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          Richardson makes Seattle favorites in NFC (0:59)

          Michael Smith and Jemele Hill break down how Sheldon Richardson stacks up with an already loaded defense in Seattle. (0:59)

          • Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff WriterSep 4, 2017, 09:06 PM
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              Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University. You can follow him via Twitter @RichCimini.
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          FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Muhammad Wilkerson was taking a nap last Friday when he was awakened by an ESPN alert on his smart phone:

          Sheldon Richardson traded to the Seattle Seahawks.

          Wilkerson has been through this before. In March 2016, his close friend and fellow defensive lineman Damon Harrison left the New York Jets to sign with the New York Giants. Now another big piece on the defensive front is gone, and the Jets have to find a way to replace Richardson.

          "Just part of the business," Wilkerson said Monday.

          Richardson registered only 1.5 sacks last season, so it's not like they traded away Aaron Donald. Nevertheless, Richardson played 736 defensive snaps in 2016 and was a disruptive presence against the run. So, yes, there's a void.

          "We have depth there," said coach Todd Bowles, commenting for the first time on the trade. "That was our deepest position at the time. Obviously, we have three other guys that can play and we have [Mike] Pennel that can play and we have Claude [Pelon] that can play. You don’t replace a guy like that, you just do different things."

          The Jets have six defensive linemen on the roster. Steve McLendon and Pennel are nose tackles; Wilkerson, Pelon and Leonard Williams can play tackle or end. They also have Kony Ealy, who is best suited to end.

          Williams (866 snaps) and Wilkerson (818) logged a heavy workload last season, so you can't expect them to increase their totals. As Bowles said, they will have to rely more on backups than before. They also could cut back on the 4-3 usage, staying in their base 3-4 front.

          McLendon was sorry to lose a player of Richardson's caliber, but he doesn't believe it will hurt the defensive line.

          "I don't see any negative at all," he said.

          McLendon also said, "I don't want to use any other team, but if you look around the league, some teams probably don't have as much talent as we have, but they're probably at times a little bit more disciplined. That's where we need to be at."

          Not that anybody needed a reminder, but the trade reinforced the intent of the organization. The Jets are rebuilding. They were willing to weaken their defense to add an average wide receiver (Jermaine Kearse) and, most importantly, a second-round pick in 2018.

          "Ask the people upstairs, I just play football," said Wilkerson, responding to a question about the direction of the team.

          Bowles, whose roster has been stripped of most veterans, called the trade "a good move for both parties. It was a good move for us, short term and long term. We needed another wideout and we got an extra pick, and they got a good player."

          Bowles said it's similar to losing a player to injury, insisting that coaches must learn to adjust. Thing is, injuries are out of a team's control; the Jets controlled Richardson's future and decided to send him packing.

          "Whether a guy is traded, suspended, cut, hurt or anything else, you have to adjust," Bowles said. "As a coach, you have to be prepared to adjust, so it's no different."