The New York Jets' decision to trade for Haason Reddick, only to watch him hold out all summer and demand a trade in an effort to get a new contract, has been a wonderful bit of schadenfreude for other AFC East teams and a relatively spicy subplot during an otherwise boring stretch of the NFL calendar. With the regular season around the corner, though, it's becoming a real problem for the Jets. Any defense will miss a double-digit sack artist like Reddick, but New York's own double-digit sack artist Bryce Huff left in free agency and Reddick was specifically acquired to replace him.
But the contract situation has thrown everything into doubt. On Thursday, head coach Robert Saleh was asked about Reddick's availability for Week 1 and he had a quite frank response that likely doubles as a message to Reddick.
"I don't know," Saleh told reporters. "I haven't really thought about it."
Saleh on his confidence level that Reddick will report in time to play Week 1: “I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.” #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) August 22, 2024
Some real "I don't think about you at all" energy from Saleh.
It's also all part of the public negotiation dance. The Jets are definitely thinking about not having Reddick for Week 1 because they have no other choice. New York needs every player on its roster to play well in order to make the sort of deep postseason run ownership is paying Aaron Rodgers for. But saying so to the media doesn't exactly help negotiation. So 'round and 'round we go.
The clock is ticking for Reddick and the Jets.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jets' Robert Saleh Had Frank Response to Question About Haason Reddick's Week 1 Status.
