New Jersey native Haason Reddick arrived at 1 Jets Drive on Monday following two seasons with the Eagles in which he made consecutive Pro Bowl appearances and helped them reach the Super Bowl to cap the 2022 season. Despite the memories made and success he had in City of Brotherly Love, Reddick is looking forward to the next chapter in New York.
"Me personally, I feel like I have a lot left in the tank," Reddick told reporters. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be here, and that's pretty much that. I feel like when I don't have any more to give, I'll retire. Until that point, I'm going to continue to try to play my best ball. As far as the Eagles go though, it wasn't about what he has left in the tank or anything like that, it's a business, and sometimes hard decisions have to be made, even if you don't like them. I am excited about what is next."
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported the news of the trade last Friday and Reddick, 29, found out just like the fans, via X [formerly known as Twitter]. After the initial shock of the deal wore off, Reddick was excited about the fresh start.
Prior to Philadelphia, Reddick, drafted in the first round by Arizona in 2017 (No. 13), spent four years with the Cardinals (2017-20) and did a one-year stint with the Panthers in 2021.
In 2023, Reddick recorded 11 sacks, 23 QB hits, 13 tackles for loss and was named to the Pro Bowl. The year before, he delivered a career-high 16 sacks, 26 QB hits and finished fourth in AP Defensive Player of the Year voting. In addition, over the past four seasons, he has totaled 51 sacks, fourth-most in the NFL behind Cincinnati's Trey Hendrickson (53), Cleveland's Myles Garrett (58) and Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt (62).
"The past few days have been crazy," Reddick said. "My phone has been ringing off the hook nonstop between family, friends and new teammates and coaches and the whole new Jets family at the end of the day. But the news itself, I was happy to hear. It is a new beginning and new chapter for me."
Part of the appeal for Reddick, that made the transition to wearing a different shade of green easier, was the potential of playing within another elite defensive unit. Under HC Robert Saleh and DC Jeff Ulbrich, the Jets' defense rotates defenders and allows them to go all-out on rushes more frequently.
"I love it and the fact that we have a bunch of young dawgs that we are going to make it all easier for each other," Reddick said. "The attack, the attack, the attack style, I am all for it. I am all about constantly putting QB's ([quarterbacks]) under duress. With the group that we have, the front that we have, we should be able to do that really often."
Playing with Pro Bowlers DT Quinnen Williams and pass rusher Jermaine Johnson, Reddick is looking forward to being a mentor to the team's younger pass rushers including last year's first round pick (No. 15) Will McDonald IV. McDonald got limited playing time over 15 games and registered 3.0 sacks.
"I believe I can help Willa lot," Reddick said. "I talked to Ulbrich about him earlier and just learning about him as a person, some of the things he went through. My path to get here wasn't easy as well and I won't compare it to his, but being a veteran, being somebody that has had success in this league, and it is a lot of knowledge that I have to give to the younger guys and that is what I am here to do."
As the Jets look to snap their 13-year playoff drought, the one place this Jets defense is lacking is in postseason experience. That is where Reddick comes. In 2022-23, he had 2 sacks in the championship game and 1.5 in the divisional round. He wants to replicate the chemistry that the 2022 Eagles team had during their run to the Super Bowl.
"The biggest thing, man, was the bonding of that team," Reddick said. "You look at that 2022 season, the one where we went to the Super Bowl that year, we had so many pieces come in but we were dedicated to get to know one another. We were dedicated to be around each other, we were dedicated to being friends, and creating a brother-type bond with each other and that was something that was on display the full year. I think that is one of the major things that I can bring here is that brotherly love, bringing people along, helping everybody become a team, a family type unit. So that way we can all reach out goals and be where we want to be."
