The 2025 offseason has been a successful one for the New York Jets simply by moving on from outspoken veterans.
Aaron Rodgers proved the Jets right with his latest drama. Now, Haason Reddick is doing the same.
When the Jets first acquired the Pro Bowl edge rusher in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, the team knew Reddick was searching for a new contract. Despite not agreeing to a deal when the trade was made, the Jets still allowed the acquisition to go through.
What happened next was just a microcosm of the 2024 season for the franchise.
Now that Reddick has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, though, the Jets should find some solace knowing it isn’t just them who Reddick seems to not want to play for.
Former Jets No-Shows OTAs… Again
Reddick turned heads last season when he chose not to attend the Jets’ voluntary workouts. His holdout was not the first time he had done so during the offseason.
New York later called his bluff. Reddick didn’t start practicing with the team until the midway point of the 2024 season. By then, the Jets’ regular season struggles weren’t going to be fixed with his arrival.
After a single sack recorded during his Jets tenure, Reddick signed a one-year, $14 million deal with the Buccaneers, including $12 million guaranteed.
If Tampa Bay hoped a new deal would get Reddick to show up at the facility to show how serious he is in getting back to his old elite self, they were sadly mistaken on Monday.
For a third straight season, Reddick has been a no-show at voluntary OTAs.
“I’m sure one of these days we’ll see him,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Monday morning.
Despite his absence, Tampa Bay doesn’t seem too concerned about it. They were in desperate need of a veteran edge rusher when they signed Reddick this offseason.
“He can rush the passer,” Bowles said back in April. “So if we got guys that can rush the passer, we let them rush the passer. Like I said last year, we need to rush better with four. I think he brings a great addition to help us rush with four so we can cover more and do those type of things.
“We’ll still pressure some, but hopefully it won’t be as much as last year because we had to instead of how we want to. So I think he brings that to the table for us.”
It’s hard not to be a Jets fan at this time and laugh over situations like this. New York brought Reddick in to be the final piece of a championship roster. He simply didn’t want to be there.
Now, the Jets and new head coach Aaron Glenn have brought in players who actually want to be members of the organization.
That could make all the difference in the world in 2025 and beyond.
