New York Jets owner Woody Johnson showed head coach Robert Saleh the door by firing him unceremoniously last Tuesday. Now, he is ready to roll out the red carpet for a disgruntled employee in two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Haason Reddick.
As recently as last week, it didn't look like the veteran edge rusher's holdout had any resolution in sight with his agency CAA dropping him as a client last Wednesday, per NFL Media. By Monday morning, however, Reddick had hired Drew Rosenhaus as his new agent, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reports, and there is now renewed hope the holdout could come to an end soon.
The Jets acquired the 30-year-old Reddick from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2026 conditional pick on April 1. The pick conveyed to Philly is a second-rounder if he reaches 67.5% of the team's defensive snaps and double-digit sacks, otherwise it is a third-round pick.
Despite technically being on Gang Green since April, Reddick has yet to show up because he felt he was promised a new contract upon joining the team. The Jets have long felt he went back on his word to play out the final year of his current deal, which included a non-guaranteed base salary of $14.25 million. Reddick has lost upwards of $5 million of that annual salary after skipping the first six weeks of the season. Reddick's NFL career earnings amount to $51.7 million, according to OverTheCap.com.
"I don't think any of us have seen anything like this, so I think you have to be part psychologist and some other [thing] to try to figure out what is actually going on," Johnson said of the Reddick situation on a conference call last week, via ESPN.
New York has the fifth-ranked scoring defense in the NFL (17.0 points per game allowed) while ranking second in sack rate (11.4%), fourth in sacks (18.0) and fifth in quarterback pressure rate (39.8%) without Reddick in 2024. Perhaps they could be No. 1 or challenging for the top spot with Reddick. Johnson said the Jets will welcome him "with open arms" and that he "will find a very welcome locker room and he'll be able to fit right in." Starting 2-3 has Johnson attempting to goad Reddick to drive down from his Camden, New Jersey residence, which is about 90 minutes from the Jets facility in Florham Park.
"But he's got to get here first," Johnson. "So, Haason, get in your car, drive down I-95 and come to the New York Jets. We can meet you and give you an escort right in the building and you will fit right in and you're going to love it here, and you're going to feel welcome and you're going to accomplish great things with us."