The New York Jets swung a trade to acquire star edge rusher Haason Reddick from the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this offseason, but things haven’t exactly gotten off on the right foot.
Reddick has not been present at any of the Jets’ offseason workouts due to a contract dispute, and now, with training camp on the horizon, Reddick may end up holding out.
The 29-year-old has one year remaining on his deal, and the expectation by New York was that he would be perfectly fine playing out 2024 without an extension.
Well, apparently, Reddick has had a change of heart and wants to get paid. The problem is, the Jets weren’t anticipating this and didn’t really plan to include him in their budget beyond next season. At least not immediately, anyway.
So, what will be the end result here?
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine envisions an unceremonious breakup between the two sides, predicting that New York will trade Reddick in training camp.
Would the Jets seriously move Haason Reddick?
To be fair to Ballentine, this has been dubbed a “bold” prediction on his part, so it doesn’t necessarily mean that he is fully expecting the Jets to trade their new pass rusher.
However, Ballentine notes that New York has depth on the edge, naming Jermaine Johnson and Will McDonald IV as pieces that can step in and fill a potential void left by Reddick.
But chances are, the Jets and Reddick will reach some sort of understanding.
New York acquired Reddick to help try to win a Super Bowl this year. The team also lost Bryce Huff in free agency, but it softened the blow by trading for Reddick, who could actually be viewed as an all-around upgrade over Huff (age notwithstanding).
Plus, does Reddick really want to risk sitting out in a contract year? He turns 30 in September, so it’s not like he will be a young player hitting free agency next March. If he doesn’t play in 2024, it will certainly hurt his value on the open market.
It is in the best interest of both parties to figuring something out.
Reddick is coming off of back-to-back Pro Bowl campaigns with the Eagles. Last season, he posted 38 tackles and 11 sacks. That came after he racked up a career-high 16 sacks in 2022.
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