Haason Reddick's new contract proves former NY Jets pass rusher blew it

The NY Jets traded a third-round pick for former Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick with the expectation that he would hit double-digit sacks for the fifth conseuctive season and take their pass rush to a new level. What they got was an unmitigated disaster.

Rather than sign a new deal, Reddick decided to hold out, miss the first seven games of the season, and come back to a team that was so dead on arrival. His poor season was ultimately what prevented him from signing a long-term contract in free agency.

Reddick signed a one-year, $14 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that will pay him $12 million in guaranteed money. While he did get a nice payday after the mess last year, he ended up ruining his chances of getting the long-term deal he was trying to squeeze out of the Jets.

Haason Reddick doesn't get long-term deal after NY Jets debacle

Reddick is one of many Jets players who underperformed last season, as he never even played a down under defensive wizard head coach Robert Saleh. However, Reddick came in severely out of game shape, and it impacted his ability to put together a productive season with the Jets.

In 10 games, Reddick mustered just 14 tackles and one full sack. After costing himself nearly eight figures in fines due to not showing up in an unprecedented holdout, it was clear that Reddick's first season with the Jets was going to be doomed to failure from the jump.

Tampa Bay could be a good spot for him to revitalize his career. Fresh off winning the division, a defensive-minded head coach in Todd Bowles could find all sorts of places to deploy him on what has become a suspect defensive line. However, his status as an elite pass rusher and hard-working teammate has completely eroded.

Both the Jets and Reddick deserve blame for letting the 2024 season play out in the way that it did. While Reddick may end up getting back to his old self in Tampa Bay, no Jets fan will likely be that sad to see him go after a nightmare of a 2024 campaign.

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