NFL Analysis
8/14/24
8 min read
4 Trade Destinations For New York Jets EDGE Haason Reddick
Things are not going well with Haason Reddick and the New York Jets.
Reddick was traded to the Jets earlier in the offseason. He was in the final year of his contract and looking for an extension from the Eagles. When the Eagles shopped Reddick for a trade, teams knew the pass rusher was looking for a new deal.
Reports say the Jets initially offered Reddick a deal well below the market, which he rejected. Still, the Jets made the trade anyway, sending a conditional 2026 third-round pick to Philadelphia.
Reddick appeared at an introductory press conference in April but without a new contract. He has not shown up for any offseason workouts and hasn't reported to training camp.
Without much communication between the two sides, Reddick officially requested a trade from the Jets on Monday. General manager Joe Douglas immediately said the Jets wouldn't trade him, leaving everyone in a stalemate.
The Jets won't negotiate with Reddick until he reports, and Reddick will not report until he has a new deal despite being fined daily for his absence.
It’s hard to blame Reddick. He’s been one of the league’s best pass rushers during the past few seasons but never truly cashed in on that production. He was miscast as an off-ball linebacker early in his career before finally rushing the passer in his final year with the Cardinals.
After a 12.5-sack season in 2020, he signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Carolina Panthers in 2021 and put up 11 sacks. Reddick then signed his three-year, $45 million contract with the Eagles and totaled 27 sacks during the first two years of that contract.
It’s clear he’s overperformed that contract. His $15 million per year average is 19th among edge rushers, per Over The Cap. Since his deal was signed, Alex Highsmith, Bryce Huff, Jonathan Greenaed, Rashan Gary, Montez Sweat, Brian Burns, Josh Hines-Allen, and Nick Bosa have topped his contract on multi-year deals.
Of that list, only Bosa has more sacks than Reddick in the past three seasons. Reddick’s 38 sacks since 2021 rank sixth among all defenders.
If Reddick is set on sitting out until a new deal is signed, it’s possible the Jets will get frustrated enough to trade a player acquired four months ago who has not played a snap and barely stepped in the team facility.
Let’s look at a few teams that could use an impactful pass rusher for 2024 and beyond.
Haason Reddick Trade Landing Spots
Indianapolis Colts 
The Indianapolis Colts have tried to invest in edge rusher, but they are relying on hope for this season. Indianapolis drafted Laiatu Latu in the first round to pair with 2021 first-round pick Kwity Paye, 2021 second-round pick Dayo Odeyingbo and veteran Tyquan Lewis.
Paye's sacks have increased in each of his three seasons, but his pressure rate has gone in the opposite direction. He had a career-high 8.5 sacks last season, but it came on just nine hits. Odeyingbo is a similar case. He had an impressive eight sacks with 19 quarterback hits but a below-average overall pressure rate.
Samson Ebukam, who was the team’s best edge rusher last year and led the defense in pass rush snaps, tore his Achilles and will miss the 2024 season. That leaves the Colts looking for a consistent pass rush on the outside.
Latu has shown enough in camp that he only played a handful of snaps with the starters in the preseason opener and should make an impact in his first season. Paring him with Reddick could make a devastating defensive front, along with DeForest Buckner. This would allow Indianapolis to rotate in Paye and Odeyingbo, lessening the need for a true breakout from one of them.
Having a good front four could also help out a young, slightly unproven secondary.
The Colts were in conversations to trade for L’Jarius Sneed in the offseason, so the possibility of acquiring a top defensive player was on their radar. Indianapolis has around $26 million in cap space and could easily manage a new Reddick contract extension.
Detroit Lions
If there’s a concern on the Detroit Lions roster, it’s a secondary pass rusher. Aidan Hutchinson was second in the league in pressures with 101. The next highest Lion was Alim McNeil, with 34.
The Lions ranked third overall in pressure rate, but much of that revolved around Hutchinson’s singular efforts. A lack of a second rusher and problems in the secondary allowed opposing offenses to get the ball out and avoid sacks even when pressure was created. Despite ranking third in pressure rate, the Lions were just 22nd in sack rate.
Putting Reddick with Hutchinson would open up more 1-on-1 pass-rushing opportunities for both, giving the Lions a legitimate threat on every down. It would also help develop other edge rushers on the roster. The depth behind Hutchinson is still questionable.
Detroit brought in Marcus Davenport as the No. 2 pass rusher, but he’s only on a one-year deal. He’s been on the PUP list during camp after appearing in just four games last season with the Vikings. While Davenport is a productive pass rusher when healthy, it's hard to rely on him as a consistent starter.
John Cominsky tore his MCL in training camp and is out indefinitely. James Houston was an excellent pass-rush specialist in his rookie season, recording eight sacks in seven games. However, he played only two games last season. 2022 second-round pick Josh Paschal missed time in 2023 and only has three sacks in two seasons, but was among the first-team players who did not dress for the preseason opener.
The Lions have $42 million in cap space after all of their big extensions lowered the cap hits for their best players. That could allow Detroit to front-load a Reddick extension, limiting the future exposure for a 30-year-old pass rusher as the other contracts on the books get more expensive.
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans have already taken some big swings on defense. While they signed Chidobe Awuize and traded for L’Jarius Sneed to upgrade the secondary, there is still something left to be desired with edge depth.
Currently, Harold Landry is the top edge rusher next to Jeffery Simmons, who has wrecked opposing offensive lines from the interior. Tennessee was just 28th in pressure rate last season and didn’t do much to upgrade that unit in the offseason.
2021 fourth-round pick Rashad Weaver is penciled in as the starter alongside Landry. Weaver had 5.5 sacks in his sophomore season but was mostly a special-teamer in 2023. The rest of the depth chart includes rookie seventh-round pick Jaylen Harrell, some undrafted free agents, and Shane Ray. The 31-year-old former first-round pick was signed at the start of training camp and has not played an NFL snap since 2018.
New defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson spent last season with Mike Macdonald and the Baltimore Ravens. That defense could easily manufacture a pass rush from different spots and positions. His other recent stops include the Eagles and Jets, where he was the defensive backs coach behind defensive lines that created pressure with the front four.
Either way, the Titans could use another piece of the pass rush.
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears defense started its turnaround last season with the acquisition of Montez Sweat. Sweat gave the Bears' defensive line enough juice to force some quarterbacks into bad positions, and the secondary took advantage, with one of the highest rates of turnovers forced per drive after the trade.
Sweat, though, didn’t completely transform the pass rush into a dominating force. The Bears still ranked 23rd in pressure rate from Week 10 on. That pass rush remains mostly unchanged from the end of the season.
Rookie fifth-round pick Austin Booker has impressed in camp and in the two preseason games with six pressures and three quarterback hits on 35 pass rush snaps. Still, it would be a lot to ask of a rookie Day 3 pick to slide in and be the team’s No. 2 rusher.
Veterans DeMarcus Walker and Jacob Martin have been productive before, but those aren’t players worth avoiding an upgrade.
Having a dominant pass rush across the line would allow the back seven to play more aggressively. That would play to the strengths of Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson on the outside, while a good group of linebackers could play faster on the second level.
A true, reliable pass rusher playing next to Sweat might be the one missing piece to unlock a defense that was already third in EPA per play in the second half of last season.
