Mo Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson Benched for Being Late to Meetings

New York Jets defensive linemen Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson missed the first quarter of Sunday's defeat to the Miami Dolphins because they were late to team meetings, according to the New York Daily News' Manish Mehta and Seth Walder.

A source told NJ.com's Connor Hughes that they were late or missed meetings "all the time."

NFL Media's Mike Garafolo provided more background on the situation. In one instance, Wilkerson reportedly failed to appear for a birthday celebration the team had arranged for him:

Garafolo added that Jets head coach Todd Bowles' frustration level is growing with the two linemen:

Bowles declined to go into specifics regarding why Richardson and Wilkerson missed the first quarter.

"That's a coaching decision," he said, per Mehta. "Any decisions I make outside of injuries and football, we usually handle in-house. I don't usually divulge that kind of information one way or the other."

On Wednesday, Wilkerson admitted to missing meetings and apologized for his actions, per Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday:

"

I won’t be a distraction. I feel like this is a distraction to the team. There won’t be a distraction no more, especially coming from me. ... I definitely have to do better and show better. ... That’s not me, that’s not my character, that’s not me as a teammate.

"

Richardson said he was benched for being late to the walkthrough on Nov. 4 after oversleeping by 20 minutes, per Andy Vasquez of The Record.

Richardson's future with the team was already in doubt. He has one more year beyond 2016 left on his deal, and the New York Post's Brian Costello reported the Jets tried and failed to trade Richardson before the Nov. 1 deadline.

Costello speculated the team will examine its trade possibilities for the 25-year-old in the offseason.

Wilkerson, on the other hand, figures to be a large part of the Jets defensive line for the foreseeable future. He's in the first year of a five-year, $86 million extension he signed in July.

It's bad enough that Wilkerson's performance has dipped from his 2015 Pro Bowl campaign. Pro Football Focus has graded him as the 70th-best edge defender in 2016, and his overall grade (51.1) is down significantly from last year (86.2).

Missing multiple team meetings creates more problems behind the scenes.

Considering he has a long-term deal with the team, it's important for Wilkerson and the Jets to nip this issue in the bud.