It's the multi-million dollar question hovering around the New York Jets as they prepare to open the season. Will he show up?
There are a lot of positive vibes surrounding the Jets ahead of their Week 1 Monday Night Football road matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. Between the lack of injuries and talent on this roster, the Jets look primed to make a real run at the Super Bowl. They are, however, missing the star edge rusher that they traded for in March as Haason Reddick has yet to show up for work.
He attended an introductory press conference, but proceeded to skip out on voluntary OTAs, mandatory June minicamp and a summer's worth of training camp practices. In addition, he's requested a trade from the team, but the Jets are not looking to get rid of him.
The entire situation between Reddick and the Jets front office has been weird and frustrating to say the least and it's unclear when we could possibly see an end of his holdout. Jets general manager Joe Douglas has made it affirmative through his statement posted on the Jets' social media account and through his press conference recently that they made their stance clear to Reddick's agent when they made the initial trade.
Ultimately, Reddick will show up to play for the Jets this season and I think it's going to be within the next few weeks for a few reasons. The most important factor in Reddick's return to the Jets is the amount of money he's already let vanish and will continue to if he misses regular season games.
Reddick has lost over $2 million in fines that came from missing training camp. With his Week 1 availability in question, Reddick could lose over $750,000 in the form of his game check. He's due $14.25 million this season by the team, but the entire contract is non-guaranteed. There has to be a breaking point for Reddick. When will he get tired of losing big money? He's also potentially lessening his value as a future free agent on the open market.
When Reddick was traded to the Jets, multiple reports surfaced that the Jets were the only team that was in contact with the Philadelphia Eagles to trade for Reddick and his contract was the biggest issue.
This entire Reddick situation shouldn't be blamed solely on the player, as Douglas shares blame as well. He knew Reddick was looking for a new deal and didn't handle it correctly, especially after letting homegrown DE Bryce Huff walk in free agency.
The two-time Pro Bowler deserves top-tier money based on his production over the last four years where he's recorded 10+ sacks in each of those seasons. That being said, Douglas has stated that he wants Reddick to be in the building before anything is agreed upon and Reddick isn't showing up which makes this whole ordeal interesting.
More New York Jets News:
• Head coach confident in New York Jets' pass rush, unfazed by star DE holdout
• Free-agent DT addition not ready for Jets' MNF opener, creates chance for rookie
• Douglas defends Jets coach's leadership qualities despite poor record
• Saleh takes measures to offset Jets' schedule disadvantage
• Jets urged to reunite former Packers' tight end with Aaron Rodgers
