According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the New York Jets have traded Sheldon Richardson to the Seattle Seahawks for Jermaine Kearse and a second round pick. The teams also swapped seventh rounders.

The Seahawks had placed Kearse, as well as Alex Collins and Jeremy Lane, on the trade block earlier this week, but most pundits assumed Seattle would acquire a late-round draft pick. Instead, they packaged Kearse with a second-rounder to acquire a very talented defensive end in Richardson. That is, when he's the field.

Richardson does come to Seattle with some baggage. He's served a suspension and he was at the center of the Jets' locker room drama last year when things spiraled downhill. 2016 also was not a great year for Richardson production-wise, but for most of his career, the 2013 first-round pick has been an important piece of New York's defense.

Schefter noted that in the past, both the Denver Broncos and the Dallas Cowboys were in play to acquire Richardson from the Jets.

Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk notes that Richardson is set to make a little more than $8 million this season after New York exercised his option. The Seahawks created the cap space necessary to make the move by renegotiating Doug Baldwin's contract, which reportedly opened up $5.2 million. Seattle converted $6.975 million of Baldwin's $7.75 million base salary into a signing bonus.

The move indicates something we already knew: the New York Jets are rebuilding for the future. Winning this season is not the primary goal for the organization, especially with top QB prospects like USC's Sam Darnold and UCLA's Josh Rosen possibly entering the 2018 NFL draft. Adding Kearse does help an inexperienced receiving core that is without past standouts Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, as well as 2016 breakout wideout Quincy Enunwa, who will miss the entire season with a neck injury.

For Seattle, the acquisition further solidifies an incredibly talented defensive line which also includes Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, and Frank Clark.