The collective brain cells between the Jets front office and star pass-rusher Haason Reddick make me buy into the recent study that concluded New York City’s subway commuters are exposed to an excessive amount of toxic air.
Forget the validity of the study’s findings, which the Metropolitan Transportation Authority sternly disputes, or whether they have any literal bearing on Reddick’s holdout tactics or the Jets’ personnel decision-making. It’s more about the uncanny timing of that piece of local news and the smoldering dumpster fire that continues to billow from Gang Green’s Florham Park headquarters.
As of Monday, on the heels of four consecutive double-digit sack seasons, Reddick has requested a trade from the team who traded for him on — you’re not gonna believe this — April Fools’ Day.
Jets sent a conditional 2026 third-round pick to the Eagles in exchange for Haason Reddick, who showed up for his physical and press conference, and spoke highly about the organization and opportunity. But then there was no new deal, and now there is a trade request. https://t.co/L3XJMnhEGD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 12, 2024
Is this one long, bad April Fools’ gag to put Fireman Ed and Jets fans through yet another round of misery? And what does Reddick stand to gain from either getting traded or sitting out for an entire season? What’s his endgame here?
Yo Haasan, just a quick common-sense take from yours truly: Asking to be traded from the team you just got traded to pretty much guarantees that nobody else will want to trade for you. If you’re making that much of a stink about your pay, and refusing to play nary a preseason or training camp down for the team who sacrificed a Day 2 draft pick to acquire you, that doesn’t exactly bode well for your future prospects.
But like, whatever. Reddick can dig his own grave. It’s kind of hilarious that he’s torpedoing his own trade value just to make things more difficult on the Jets, whose brass 100% deserves every hardship coming to them.
If only there was an example of a former Jets player who sat out a full season — not saying Reddick will do that, but if he doesn’t get traded, sure might be trending that way — and was never the same thereafter.
Just so everyone understands what happened with Le’Veon Bell, a thread: Bell sat out the 2018 season forfeiting 14.5 million under the franchise tag with The Steelers. He then signs that 4 year 52 million dollar deal with The Jets. However .. he only made 28 million on that deal
— trey wingo (@wingoz) June 16, 2021
Former Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, in a kinda-sorta retirement from football post, writes on Instagram that he wishes he had a time machine to go back to the 2018 season. That’s the year he sat out instead of playing on the franchise tag in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/WX0CisG9KB
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) July 14, 2022
In that scenario, at least the Jets paid Le’Veon. This is more on GM Joe Douglas and Co. than it is on Reddick. If you trade for a player, you assume the responsibility of paying him whatever he thinks he’s worth. It doesn’t get much more self-explanatory than that.
The Jets are in position to play hardball for that reason alone. Alas, they’re not letting that stop them, which is just beyond baffling to me. This is the most pointless, trivial, idiotic stalemate between an NFL organization and a player that I’ve ever seen in my life. The Jets couldn’t be stupider if they tried. And it’s annoying. With Aaron Rodgers coming back and expectations at an all-time high, this is the last sort of nonsense the team needs ahead of the 2024 season.
Look at Douglas put out this tough-guy statement to beat back Reddick’s trade demand. Hahahahahaha. GTFOH, man.
Jets GM Joe Douglas on Haason Reddick’s trade request: pic.twitter.com/N5SekYjzEB
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 12, 2024
Everyone expects the Jets to have a great defense. Without Haason Reddick on the edge, they have Jermaine Johnson, the uber-athletic-but-lanky Will McDonald IV, and a whole lotta question marks on the depth chart after them at that premium position. Sounds suboptimal.
The communication between Reddick’s representation and the team has been, um, inconsistent at best, adding a whole other wrinkle to this catastrophe.
The #Jets were informed by Haason Reddick’s representation that he would report and play under his current contract. That, obviously, has not happened.
They let Reddick know they were open to adjusting his current deal (converting non-guaranteed to GTD), but only when he showed… pic.twitter.com/b0TFDEDDTn
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) August 12, 2024
Meanwhile, Douglas and the front office are sitting on over $19 million in salary cap room for 2024, with almost $58 million projected space in 2025 and precisely zero pending free agents who are indispensable to their future plans.
This circus of a saga makes the Carolina Panthers’ trade for Bryce Young look like a masterpiece by comparison.
