Haason Reddick landing spots: Best fits for pass rusher if Jets trade him
The New York Jets ushered in the Davante Adams era on Tuesday, Oct. 15, when they swung a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders to acquire the veteran wide receiver.
They may soon usher out the short-lived Haason Reddick era as well.
The Athletic's Dianna Russini reports that the Jets have given Reddick "a short window" in which he can seek a trade. That comes just days after Reddick was dropped by his agency and hired Drew Rosenhaus to serve as his top negotiator.
Reddick hasn't reported to the Jets since being acquired via trade from the Philadelphia Eagles in April. The 30-year-old is in the final year of a three-year, $45 million contract he signed with the Eagles in 2022 and has remained steadfast in wanting a lucrative contract extension before returning to the field.
With no end to Reddick's holdout in sight and the Jets sitting at 2-4 on the season, attempting to trade him is a sensible decision. There should be plenty of interest in him, considering he has logged at least 11 sacks in four consecutive seasons.
Where might Reddick be the best fit? Plenty of NFC teams loom as potential landing spots, while one omnipresent AFC team could also be in the mix for his services.
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Detroit Lions
After Aidan Hutchinson's season-ending injury, the Lions become an obvious fit for Reddick. Hutchinson led the NFL with 7.5 sacks before suffering a broken leg against the Dallas Cowboys. Detroit will have to replace him. They are also without John Cominsky (knee) and Marcus Davenport (triceps) long-term.
However, Reddick isn't a like-for-like swap with Hutchinson. The former Eagle is much smaller than the Michigan product and isn't as good against the run, but Aaron Glenn can scheme up ways to use Reddick as a top pass rusher. Reddick's weakness against the run could easily be covered up by Detroit's top-three run defense (83.2 yards allowed per game through Week 6).
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys enter Week 7 at 3-3 and are a game back of the surprising Washington Commanders in the NFC East race. Dallas needs to shore up some of its weaknesses, including the team's pass rush, which is banged up right now.
Dallas lost its No. 3 pass rusher Sam Williams to a season-ending knee injury before the campaign began. Now, Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence are out of the lineup, with the latter being out at least through the Cowboys' Week 9 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons and possibly longer.
Reddick would be a great replacement for the aging Lawrence, making Dallas three-deep on the edge upon the veteran's return. The only question is whether Jerry Jones would give up the financial resources needed to make Reddick happy. This partnership seems unlikely based on the Cowboys' lack of spending in the offseason.
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Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons traded for Matthew Judon on the eve of the 2024 NFL season, but they still need a consistent pass-rushing partner for the 32-year-old. Atlanta is generating pressure on just 11.7 percent of its opponents' dropbacks this season, which ranks second-worst in the NFL, ahead of only the Carolina Panthers (11.1 percent).
Reddick could be an immediate fix to the Falcons' problems, so general manager Terry Fontenot shouldn't be afraid to get aggressive as Atlanta battles for the top spot in the NFC South with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Speaking of the Buccaneers, they could use some reinforcements on the edge. Todd Bowles has had Tampa Bay blitz 71 times this season, the third-most in the NFL, but the team ranks just 15th in the NFL in pressure percentage (21.2).
Reddick would provide the Buccaneers with more pass-rushing pop than Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, who is Pro Football Focus' 87th-ranked edge player out of 114 qualified players and has generated just 11 pressures in 129 pass-rushing snaps this year.
Chicago Bears
The Bears have impressively posted the eighth-highest pressure rate in 2024 (25.6 percent) despite blitzing at the sixth-lowest rate (17.7 percent). However, Chicago could still stand to upgrade its pass rush across from Montez Sweat, and adding Reddick could free up Sweat for better pass-rushing opportunities, who has just 2.5 sacks through six games thus far.
Chicago took its defense to the next level by trading for Sweat ahead of the 2023 NFL trade deadline. Doing the same for Reddick could have a similar impact and help the Bears in their quest to make the postseason for the first time since 2020. Plus, with Caleb Williams on a rookie contract, the Bears can afford to pay Reddick to upgrade their strong defense.
San Francisco 49ers
Williams is on a cost-controlled deal for the Bears, but Brock Purdy's contract with the 49ers is even more ridiculous. He isn't even making $1 million for the 2024 NFL season, so San Francisco has the financial resources (a league-best $54.46 million in cap space, per OverTheCap.com) to improve its roster.
The 49ers have the ninth-highest pressure rate in the NFL and a solid pass-rushing tandem in Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd. Still, adding Reddick to the fold wouldn't hurt and would give the team more pass-rushing depth as it looks to get back to the Super Bowl and give Kyle Shanahan his first-ever NFL title.
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Kansas City Chiefs
As long as the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes, they should be among the teams considering adding at the trade deadline. Kansas City has generated pressure on 32.6 percent of dropbacks this season (second-best in the NFL) but has only recorded 1.8 sacks per game, tied for fourth-fewest in the NFL.
Reddick would provide a proven upgrade to join the solid duo of George Karlaftis and Mike Danna in a deeper rotation for the Chiefs. Reddick would give Steve Spagnuolo another versatile weapon to move around the defense along with Chris Jones, which could help keep opposing offenses off-balance.