Five months ago, the New York Jets thought they had acquired one of the top edge rushers across the entire NFL in Haason Reddick. Something they had been desperately missing since the likes of Shaun Ellis and Jonathan Abraham.
Now, we’re just a few weeks away from a highly anticipated week 1 matchup against the NFC Champions San Francisco 49ers. And Haason Reddick is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Hold on, he wants what?
Early Monday afternoon, Haason Reddick officially requested a trade from the New York Jets.
After not attending a single practice during training camp and skipping all voluntary workouts earlier in the summer in hopes of getting a contract extension, the newly acquired Jet has wasted no time putting a sour taste in the mouth of all Jets fans. This comes after Reddick previously announced that he would give his all to the organization.
At his New York Jets introductory press conference Reddick appeared content with the move to New York.
Since that quote back in April, Reddick has done quite the opposite of “I’m going to give the team and the fans everything that I have.” Of course, the Jets are no stranger to players holding out for a bigger contract, as superstar Darrelle Revis notoriously missed almost all of training camp back in 2010. With that being said, Revis never tried to force his way off the team.
Chat, is this real?
Many believe this could be a negotiation tactic to get an extension. This is plausible given Reddick’s agent Tory Dandy represents a handful of NFL stars who have held out in the past.
The Jets aren’t taking no for an answer, though. Joe Douglas released a public statement stating that they laid the expectations for Reddick at the very beginning of his Jets tenure.
Many have been quick to blame GM Joe Douglas after he chose to let Bryce Huff leave in free agency on a contract that the Jets could easily have dealt. Huff, who had been coming off a double digit sack season for the Jets, chose to sign with the Eagles.
Meanwhile, Douglas seemed content to ride with former first round picks Jermaine Johnson and Will McDonald prior to the acquisition of Reddick. McDonald has been a controversial pick so far in his short career with the Jets. He was said to be a project coming out of Iowa State, and that showed as he rarely saw the field in his rookie season.
Who knows… Maybe when the Jets win the Super Bowl and Hasson Reddick wins Super Bowl MVP the fans will forget about this whole fiasco. And Reddick will go into the Jets Ring of Honor. Until then, however, the New York Jets fans have earned the right to be upset at Haason Reddick and Joe Douglas.
Let’s see how this all unfolds at the start of the season.
