One of the big moves made by the New York Jets this offseason blew up in their faces on Monday.
Pass-rusher Haason Reddick, who was traded to the organization in April by the Philadelphia Eagles, publicly requested a trade while holding out from training camp in hopes of securing a long-term contract.
The optics of a player demanding a trade before playing a single down for the team is not great. But the Jets are not going to budge. Not right away, anyway.
Less than an hour after news of the trade request hit the newswire, the Jets and general manager Joe Douglas released an official statement via their social media accounts. It was brief and left no room for doubt.
"We have informed Haason that we will not trade him, that he is expected to be here with his teammates, and that he will continue to be fined per the CA if he does not report," the statement reads. "Since the trade discussions back in March we have been clear, direct, and consistent with our position. Our focus will remain on the guys we have here as we prepare for the regular season."
— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 12, 2024
Whew. Looks like Reddick and the Jets are both happy to go to war in the court of public opinion. And, as is often the case with situations like these, it's hard to see a future in which there is a winner.
The Jets are almost certainly not going to trade Reddick. He was acquired to replace the production of Bryce Huff, who left in free agency to sign with the Eagles. New York does not boast a similarly dangerous pass-rusher anywhere on the roster and are very much all-in on this season with Aaron Rodgers on the wrong side of 40 recovering from a bad injury. Not to mention, selling low on Reddick would not be smart business.
However, it also does not sound like negotiations between the two sides on a new deal are going well. Reddick has 27 sacks in the last two seasons and wants to be rewarded with a long-term agreement. But he's been in talks for a new contract for months now and there's been no movement, not even when he started to get fined for missing mandatory offseason activities.
Monday brought an escalation on the situation between Reddick and the Jets. It's all in the open. Now it's about who will blink first. With this statement, the Jets made it very clear they don't intend to do so.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jets Issue Strong Response to Haason Reddick Trade Request.
