Haason Reddick has officially requested a trade just four months after being acquired by the Jets in a trade with the Eagles. Reddick, one of the league’s most talented pass rushers, is opting out of playing out the final year of his contract with the Eagles in 2022.
The current situation is complete chaos. There’s back and forth between agents and teams, each stating their case directly or through agents. Redick’s camp says the Jets knew when they traded him that he couldn’t play under his current contract, but the Jets say Redick’s camp knows he’s not playing under his current contract. Probably. He is playing under contract and the team has no plans to trade him at this time.
Amid this military intimidation lie some irrefutable truths about Reddick’s situation.
Haason Reddick is one of the lowest paid players in the NFL because of how well he’s performed.
Redick, who was selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, has had two consistent career moments: He’s an exceptionally good player and he’s never been overpaid.
Redick has recorded 58.0 sacks in his eight-year career, including double-digit sacks in each of the past four seasons, was named second-team All-Pro in 2022 and was selected to two Pro Bowls, and has made $51 million in career earnings.
By comparison, the Commanders’ Jonathan Allen, a better player than Redick but clearly a lesser pass rusher, was selected fourth overall. rear Redick has earned $61 million in career earnings despite having 19 fewer sacks and tackles for loss and never being selected to an All-Pro team.
A big part of the reason for this is that Redick has been unfairly pressured to “prove himself” over and over again. Selected at the end of the Bruce Arians era in Arizona, Redick got off to a slow start in his career due to inconsistent coaching. The genius minds of general manager Steve Keim and coach Kliff Kingsbury never saw Redick’s potential and chose not to exercise his fifth-year option before the start of the 2020 season.
Redick played and began his impressive season knowing he would be a free agent in 2021. He recorded 12.5 sacks and a career-high six forced fumbles. It looked like Redick had cashed a check for a big future in the league.
Then free agency rolled around, and nothing happened. Despite his incredible numbers, teams were wary of signing Redick for a top pass-rusher’s money, concerned that his season in Arizona was the exception, not the rule.
Not left with many options, Redick decided to test himself again, signing a one-year, “prove it” contract with the Carolina Panthers for just $6 million. It wasn’t anywhere near what he was worth, but playing for the hapless Panthers guaranteed him a chance at a start, and thanks to head coach Matt Lue (Redick’s coach at Temple University), he was at least familiar with the organization.
Redick was big again. In his lone season with Carolina, he recorded 11.0 sacks and added two forced fumbles. Proving it was no fluke, Redick was once again ready to enter free agency, this time with a better resume and a better chance of getting paid what he was worth — or at least, that’s what he thought.
There’s no doubt that Redick has been mistreated by the NFL so far. But his 2022 free agent contract was a total flop by his agent. Redick, who signed with the Eagles on March 14, received a three-year, $45 million contract from Philadelphia. That seemed low for a double-digit pass rusher in his mid-20s, but… how How low the deal was quickly revealed when other players around the league began signing.
Redick was the first elite rusher to be signed, and ended up with a terrible contract compared to the others.
- Von Miller (33): 6 years, $120 million ($20 million per player)
- Chandler Jones (32): three years, $51 million ($17 million per year)
- Randy Gregory (29): 5 years, $70 million ($14 million per year)
Redick didn’t get a long-term or big-money contract — Von Miller is in a league of his own, but he was better than Chandler Jones and Randy Gregory at the time — but he got a substantially worse contract, even though he was 27 and in the prime of his free agency.
What the Jets are saying makes absolutely no sense
It was widely known that Redick was not happy with his contract. The reason the Eagles traded Redick is because they knew he wasn’t going to report without a new contract.But the Jets are trying to sell the image that Redick was perfectly happy playing for them with $14.25 million remaining on his contract.
To be clear, Redick was not happy with his contract with a perennial playoff team in Philadelphia. But he had no problem playing under his contract with the Jets.Plus, the idea that the Jets wouldn’t take on a player who’s never played for the team is ludicrous considering the ludicrous efforts the team has taken to appease Aaron Rodgers before he even took the field.
If the Jets weren’t going to raise Redick’s salary, they shouldn’t have traded for him. All they’re doing is demonizing Redick, putting pressure on the fans at a time when expectations are high, and labeling him as a traitor who won’t contribute to the team. If they’re not willing to work out a deal, or the two sides can’t come to an agreement, they should trade him to someone who is willing to pay his salary.
But the Jets aren’t going to do that. They appear (at least for now) to just sit him out a year, pay the fine, and retain his rights. This seems more likely given how little they paid to trade him, and how low his contract was to avoid bankruptcy.
Unfortunately, this is just another chapter in the story of a man who never got his due financially. Redick remains one of the best pass rushers in the league and would be a huge benefit to any team, whether it be the Jets or another team.
