Jets GM has perfect response to Haason Reddick’s ironic trade request

Haason Reddick is the Jets offseason mosquito bite they just can’t seem to scratch.

After supposedly agreeing to a “band-aid” contract with the hopes of a large extension, to missing mini camp and costing himself $250k , to missing all of training camp thus far and now requesting a trade from a franchise he has yet to really be a part of, it has been Haason Reddick drama show fit for Bravo, not ESPN.

And Jets’ GM Joe Douglas is not buying into the drama. In a statement released soon after news broke of Reddick’s trade request, Douglas made it clear he has no plans to trade the 29-year-old.

Let me start here. Bravo, Joe.

I have said on numerous occasions that I am all for players getting their money when they can, but there has to be some ethics to the negotiation. You don’t tell a team one thing and then wait for them to make a roster move and then tell them another.

That is reportedly exactly what Reddick did . He made the Jets believe that he was willing to play on his current deal if the Jets were willing to guarantee most of the $14.25 million he had left and then either test free agency, or negotiate an extension during the season. This led to the Jets to trade Jonathan Franklin-Myers to the Denver Broncos. Once JFM was off the team, Reddick thought he had the Jets over a barrel and decided to play dirty.

That is simply no way to do business. There is a difference between holding out when you are underpaid and negotiating in bad faith.

So, what happens now? The way I see it, there is simply no way for the Jets to trade Reddick barring some ridiculous deal. That’s just not happening. Now I can already hear the group of Jets fans that are saying “we don’t want him anyway” and “get this guy off my team” etc. etc. etc. Stop it. Reddick is a fantastic player and the kind of guy that makes Robert Saleh’s defense go. Ego aside, the Jets are better with Reddick in Gotham Green than they are with Will McDonald IV in a starting role.

Which leaves two options. Either Reddick shows up hat in hand, balls out, and gets a massive contract from some team NOT named the Jets next year. Or he doesn’t show up and continues incur fines and doesn’t solve his problem.

If he doesn’t show up by Week 10, on top of all the money he would have cost himself in fines, his contract year will void and he will still be on the Jets for the same salary next season, only another year older. For a player looking to make the massive amount of money he is, sitting out a year isn’t going to get teams lined up to sign him in 2025.

Reddick has career earnings of just over $51 million and would essentially be forfeiting $14 million if he continues to hold out.

So, what happens with the team if he doesn’t show up? The answer is simple and a little bit scary. You will need to rely on Will McDonald IV to be what you drafted him to be right now. The Jets will start McDonald and Jermaine Johnson on the outside and hope that both can take a leap forward in their development. Johnson was fantastic last year, but he will likely be the focal point of an offense’s protection plan now with no Reddick.

I won’t say Reddick missing all of 2024 would bury the Jets defense, but it will certainly be a blow. Saleh likes to generate pressure with waves of fresh players rushing only four at a time. A fantastic strategy if you have the have horses to back it up. Without Reddick, I think the Jets mind find themselves giving opposing QB’s too much time to throw the ball.

In other words, it will behoove both the Jets and Reddick to come to some sort of agreement and get him to show up. With the way Reddick has handled this offseason, I don’t hold much hope for that happening.