Former NFL GM rips Haason Reddick for 'dumbest holdout of the year'

The NY Jets are just days away from their regular-season opener against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football and star pass rusher Haason Reddick is still nowhere to be found.

While Jets head coach Robert Saleh has stopped short of officially ruling Reddick out for Week 1, it seems highly unlikely that he will be able to suit up on Monday. Barring an unexpected turnaround, Reddick will miss at least one regular-season game.

The former All-Pro has now accumulated over $5 million in fines dating back to his absence during mandatory minicamp in June. That includes over $2 million worth of training camp fines and $2.375 million worth of preseason fines.

He's set to miss just shy of $800,000 for every week of the regular season he misses. Reddick's bizarre stance has many questioning what his ultimate plan is. Count former NFL general manager and current analyst Michael Lombardi among those who are confused.

NY Jets have no reason to give in to Haason Reddick's 'dumb' holdout

Lombardi called Reddick's decision the "dumbest holdout of the year" in a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, questioning both Reddick and whoever is giving him advice.

He compared Reddick's holdout to the one involving Le'Veon Bell in 2018 which saw the two-time All-Pro sit out for an entire season before signing a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the Jets the following offseason.

The difference there, however, is that at least Bell eventually got paid, even if sitting out for all of 2018 derailed his promising career. The Jets found that out firsthand.

With Reddick, he's not going to get paid, at least not what he thinks he deserves. Reports insist that no team is willing to trade for Reddick and give him the contract he's seeking. That's why his trade request from last month is essentially meaningless.

He's holding out for a contract that no team believes he's worth. Players typically hold out because their current team is lowballing them compared to their perceived market around the league. That's not what's happening here.

Reddick is simply overestimating his market and attempting to extract any sort of leverage he might have to force a deal that's just not going to happen. And as Lombardi points out, a simple hold-in probably would have been more effective. That way Reddick wouldn't have lost over $5 million at this point.

Reddick's holdout is one of the most confusing we've seen in the NFL in years. The Jets certainly deserve their fair share of blame as well. Trading for a star player in the midst of a contract dispute and then not resolving said dispute is a very bad look.

Still, the Jets are doing the right thing by not extending a soon-to-be 30-year-old pass rusher who hasn't been at the team's facility since his introductory press conference in April.

It remains unclear just how far Haason Reddick is willing to take this, but one thing remains clear. The longer he holds out, the more he hurts himself.

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