Haason Reddick is facing adversity for the first time since his third season with the Arizona Cardinals .
His third year with the Cardinals was the last time he did not have at least 11 sacks in a season, and the last time he did not have at least 11 tackles for loss in a season.
Reddick has been a different beast ever since the Cardinals let him play his natural position of edge rusher. After being traded to the New York Jets from the Philadelphia Eagles this past offseason, though, Reddick has not played any football all season.
Reddick has been fined almost $10 million this season for holding out through the Jets' offseason and the first six weeks of the 2024 NFL season. For each game he misses from here on out, he will continue to be fined almost $800,000.
He may be back on the field soon, however, now that the Jets are allowing Reddick to seek a trade, per senior NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic . Russini reports that the Jets have given Reddick and his reps a "short window" to look for this trade.
Haason Reddick finally on the move?
Russini reports that Reddick's new representation, Drew Rosenhaus, has been reaching out to teams since Monday night to get an idea of what the interest is for Reddick.
Reddick was traded to New York for a conditional 2026 draft pick. The draft pick will be either a third-rounder or a second-rounder.
One condition affecting the Cardinals, which was reported by NFL insider Josina Anderson on Tuesday, is that the pick will turn into a second-rounder if Reddick is dealt to an NFC team. It complicates the idea of a potential trade that would have Reddick returning to the Cardinals.
If Reddick only costs a conditional Day 2 NFL draft pick this offseason, his value is likely even lower with him still holding out from his current team.
Reddick wants a deal that covers multiple years and makes him one of the higher-paid pass rushers in the game. The Cardinals have almost $22 million in cap space (ninth-most in the NFL).
Arizona Cardinals' chances of trading for Haason Reddick
The Cardinals wanted him within the first 13 picks of the 2017 NFL Draft, despite coming from a small school (Temple). Arizona was burned by not re-signing Reddick after his breakout 2020 season (12.5 sacks and what remains a career-high 15 tackles for loss).
Two seasons later as Eagles defensive coordinator, current Cardinals coach Gannon coached him up to his first Pro Bowl nod in 2022 and found 16 sacks and 26 quarterback hits out of him. Those are still career highs for Reddick.
The Cardinals rank as the NFL's fourth-worst team in quarterback hits (22). They are tied for the eighth-fewest sacks in the NFL (11), tied for the fifth-fewest quarterback knockdowns (nine) and tied for dead last in hurries (six). Reddick fills a need for the team in a system with which he's comfortable.
Therefore, if one of the teams Rosenhaus has spoken with is the Cardinals, there are a number of advantages to the Cardinals making a move for what would be the eighth-year vet. Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort would have to weigh those advantages against the negatives, too. Reddick has not played in a game since Jan. 15, and the disgruntled star has not made progress in contract negotiations with back-to-back teams.
Ossenfort also has to decide if he wants to buy at this time, too, with the Cardinals at 2-4 on the season.
Ossenfort has not spent much in his Cardinals tenure. He could look to stick with that approach as a result of his team looking challenged through six games. He could also see a Reddick trade and potential new contract as an opportunity to galvanize a franchise that has two other highly drafted pass rushers out with injuries.
Having turned 30 last month, Reddick cannot afford to lose a full year in his prime. Finally permitted to seek trades, Reddick returning to Arizona is a possibility if Ossenfort wants to make a splash.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals in the mix? Standout NFL pass rusher Haason Reddick is on the market
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