Will you come again?
Jets coaches are raving about Haason Reddick and defending his accomplishments despite a clear lack of evidence.
They claim Reddick was exactly as advertised at the time of the trade.
“If I had put the tape on and I saw a guy who was rusty and dull and not explosive, I might say that, but everything that we thought we were getting about him, what we saw on the tape. Everything that he had, it showed that we made him chase hard,” interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said Wednesday. “It's just a byproduct of a lot of things. I don't think it's physical, maybe because we're just getting used to what we're doing. [opportunities].
“For a pass rusher to be productive, he needs to have a significant lead, and we need to maintain that lead throughout the game so that we can really let the rusher go, but we're looking forward to that for him and us as a whole.” We didn't have enough opportunities.'' D-line, incidentally.''
Redick has appeared in six games since finishing his holdout, recording only half a sack, eight total tackles and two tackles for loss.
Over the past four seasons, Redick has recorded 50.5 sacks and never had less than 11 sacks in a year.
So despite Ulbrich's claims, the 2024 version of Redick doesn't produce anything close to the version the Jets traded for.
“That makes sense,” defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton said Thursday. “I also want to say about volume of plays, which is something I always use with D-linemen. If you're a three-down starter and you play an entire season, you make about 300 passes. You’re going to get … If you catch 300 passes and get 10 sacks, you’re that guy.
“With limited opportunities, I was really happy with the way he came in physically, and I was happy with his understanding, his football acumen, his awareness in understanding schemes.”
The Jets acquired Reddick from the Eagles in exchange for a conditional 2026 third-round pick, but Reddick subsequently refused to report to the team until late October while seeking a new contract.
The two sides had agreed to a revised contract before his final appearance, and his agent Drew Rosenhaus stressed that he was committed to finding an agreement on a long-term deal. .
But now that he's on the field, the 30-year-old Reddick is doing little to earn a point.
“I get excited watching him rush and I feel like he continues to grow,” Whitecotton said. “I really believe in what he's doing. I'm as fired up as the day I traded him.”
