BEREA, Ohio — When the Jets fired Mike Maccagnan as general manager in May, it was mostly met by shock, because of the timing.
For one man, it was met by a different emotion.
“I laughed my ass off,” Sheldon Richardson told The Post.
The former Jet and current Browns defensive tackle found irony in Maccagnan’s ouster. The Jets had Maccagnan hire a new coach, run their draft and spend more than $120 million on free agents in the offseason, then dumped him. Richardson, whom the Jets drafted in 2013 before Maccagnan traded him following the 2017 preseason, felt he could relate.
“It’s surprising,” Richardson said. “Catch you off guard a little bit, like it caught me off guard. That’s why I laughed my ass off. That s–t is funny.
“Because he built the team that he didn’t get a chance to see come to fruition. Just like going through training camp as a player and then getting traded [after] Week 4 of the preseason.”
As Richardson prepared to face his old team for a second time Monday night, he said he didn’t “really hold no grudges anymore,” except for Maccagnan. Richardson wanted longevity with one franchise. Now, he is on his fourth team in two-plus years.
Richardson’s career in a Jets uniform began with promise, when he was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2013 (3.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits). He followed that up with a Pro Bowl season in 2014, racking up eight sacks, 11 tackles for loss and 21 quarterback hits in Rex Ryan’s defense.
But by 2015, he was suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He was also arrested that July for driving 143 mph while having a gun and a 12-year-old relative in his car, which reeked of marijuana, police said. The arrest got him suspended for the first game of 2016. He also publicly feuded with then-teammate Brandon Marshall, which irked then-coach Todd Bowles.
The Jets finally found the right trade for Richardson, who was entering the final year of his rookie deal, sending him to the Seahawks for Jermaine Kearse and a second-round pick on Sept. 1, 2017.
“It hurt my feelings, bro,” he said. “It hurt my feelings when I got traded out of New York. Deeply. Deeply. … Don’t even know if I’m still over it.”
After playing one season for the Seahawks, Richardson landed a one-year, $8 million contract last year with the Vikings. He started all 16 games, recording 4.5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits, his most productive season since 2015 with the Jets. That helped him earn a three-year, $37 million deal with the Browns, which included $21 million guaranteed. He joined a strong defensive line that includes Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon and Larry Ogunjobi.
The 28-year-old Richardson said he still keeps in touch with a few Jets, including Brian Winters, Rontez Miles, Bilal Powell, Leonard Williams and Steve McLendon. He is now preparing to face their revamped offensive line, which has caught his attention.
“They got a decent offensive line, believe it or not,” he said.
But he still plans to get through them to record a sack. As for Monday’s game, Maccagnan is no longer in charge of the Jets, but playing his old team still adds some juice.
“Yeah, definitely. A little bit. Not too much,” Richardson said. “I mean, I come out and play 100 percent every day, every game, so it ain’t more this game, more that game. I need to get a sack, though. I didn’t get one last time. Need to get a sack. I’ll say that much, I need to get a sack.”