Davante Adams trade seals Haason Reddick's fate with NY Jets

The NY Jets gave star pass rusher Haason Reddick permission to seek a trade on Tuesday morning, just hours before the team agreed to terms on a trade for Davante Adams. The timing of those two moves was not a coincidence.

Adams gives the Jets a superstar wide receiver to reunite with Aaron Rodgers, bringing the team one step closer to their goals of reaching the postseason and making a playoff run. He doesn't fix everything, but he helps.

One problem Adams doesn't directly fix — but does directly impact — is the Reddick situation. The former All-Pro pass rusher has been picked up by a new agency and seems committed to playing football somewhere for some team in 2024.

That said, the Adams trade makes it significantly less likely that team will be the Jets. There's a reason the Jets gave Reddick permission to seek a trade, and it directly ties into the Adams deal.

NY Jets expected to trade Haason Reddick after Davante Adams deal

The Jets sent a conditional third-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders for Adams while also retaining the entirety of his remaining contract. That doesn't really impact the Jets beyond 2024, as Adams has no guarantees remaining on his deal. The two sides will have to re-work his contract.

It does, however, significantly cut into the Jets' remaining cap space. Prior to the Adams trade, the Jets had roughly $17 million in cap space, per Over The Cap. Projections indicate they now have less than $6 million in remaining cap following the trade.

Reddick's cap hit has gone down with each week that he's missed, but his salary would still be higher than the Jets' current cap space. It's hard to imagine a scenario in which they're able to get his contract under the books now.

The unfortunate reality for the Jets is that Reddick's trade market is limited. It's difficult enough to find a team willing to give up assets for Reddick, given everything that has transpired over the last few months.

To make matters worse, the conditions of the initial Reddick trade make it difficult to justify sending him to an NFC team. If Reddick were to be traded to the NFC, the conditional 2026 draft pick the Jets sent to the Philadelphia Eagles would become a second-rounder.

That essentially cuts Reddick's potential trade market in half and removes a couple of top contenders in the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. The Jets seem unlikely to forfeit that second-round pick to facilitate a Reddick trade.

The Jets knew this ahead of time, however. The Adams trade was reportedly agreed to last night — evidenced by the fact that he was in the team's building this morning. It's why they're now pushing for a Reddick trade.

Davante Adams brings the Jets closer to their goal of reaching the postseason, but don't expect Haason Reddick to be along the ride for that playoff push.

*Update: The Jets have reportedly restructured Adams' contract, giving them increased financial flexibility in 2024. This could allow them to retain Reddick after all despite initial reports suggesting otherwise.

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