Former Jets player voices Haason Reddick concerns ahead of Week 1

Pro Bowl pass-rusher Haason Reddick has essentially been a New York Jets player in name only since they acquired him from the Philadelphia Eagles this past spring, as he stayed away from the Jets throughout training camp and the preseason amid a contract holdout and a desire for an extension.

Former Jets offensive lineman and current NFL analyst Willie Colon noted during Wednesday's edition of the WFAN morning show that a recent workout video indicated Reddick will be "ready to go" for Week 1 of the upcoming season , but Colon also shared concerns about the 29-year-old.

"The problem is, there’s nobody hitting him. He’s just stepping over cones and he’s hitting the bag," Colon said about Reddick, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "It would take me at least a week or two to kind of get acclimated, just at least from the speed and getting my bearings, and hitting the lights on as I go. I could imagine for him it’s around the same."

Landing Reddick was a "win-now" move for a Jets franchise hoping that 40-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers will stay healthy through February 2025 after he suffered a torn Achilles four offensive snaps into the 2023 regular-season opener. While Reddick asked the Jets for a trade earlier this month, general manager Joe Douglas later made it clear the club would not grant that request.

For a mailbag published on Wednesday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated predicted that Reddick will report to the Jets "early next week" and that the team will "do something to help him save face" such as give him "a package of incentives tied to team success." Colon suggested such an agreement should be reached sooner rather than later for the benefit of everybody involved.

"He’s never played with this defensive line," Colon added about Reddick. "...This may be a system that he’s familiar of from a schematics standpoint, but he will be asked to do different things. And getting a rapport with the guys he’s gonna play with. He’s never played with (defensive tackle) Quinnen Williams. He’s never taken calls from (linebacker) C.J. Mosley. It would behoove him if he could get in the building ASAP."

As of late Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Jets sixth among the betting favorites at +1000 odds to represent the AFC in Supe r Bowl LIX .

Such forecasts show why Douglas is so keen to hold onto Reddick with head coach Robert Saleh likely heading into a make-or-break season regar ding his tenure with the organization.