Getty Former Philadelphia Eagles EDGE Haason Reddick reacting in the middle of an NFL game.
The New York Jets have said publically that they won’t trade Haason Reddick. However, if they change their mind there could be several teams interested in his services.
On Wednesday, August 14 the New England Patriots traded veteran pass rusher Matt Judon to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a third-round draft choice.
According to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, the Chicago Bears were the other finalists in the Judon sweepstakes but they just missed out.
Some other teams that were in the mix for Judon, according to NFL Insider Aaron Wilson, were the Miami Dolphins and the Houston Texans.
Judon and Reddick Are Eerily Similar Players
If the Bears were interested in Judon, why wouldn’t they be interested in Reddick?
Judon entered the league in 2016 as the No. 146 overall pick in the fifth round out of Grand Valley State. Reddick entered the league a year later in 2017 as the No. 13 overall pick in the first round out of Temple.
Judon, 32, has registered 66.5 sacks during his eight seasons in the NFL. Reddick, 29, has accounted for 58 sacks in seven seasons in the league.
New England was forced to trade Judon due to contract talks stalling.
Judon is scheduled to make $6.5 million in base salary for the 2024 campaign.
Judon was just traded for a third-round draft choice. When the Jets acquired Reddick initially from the Eagles, it cost them a 2026 conditional third-round draft choice.
The problem is teams are in very different parts of the spectrum. New England is projected to win 4.5 games and that “is New England’s lowest season win total since 1991”, per ESPN Bet.
Judon, a very good player, getting shipped off by New England won’t change their pre-determined fate of likely not being very good. However, the Jets have much higher expectations in 2024.
According to ESPN Bet, the Jets have a 9.5 projected win total. Gang Green has hopes of winning the Super Bowl. Trading away a player like Reddick for a future draft choice makes the team worse.
New York should be in the position of acquiring good players, not sending them away. Which likely explains the team’s stance on not wanting to trade Reddick away.
Falcons Did the Same Thing the Jets Did
Judon had frustrations with his contract situation with the Patriots. Atlanta knowing this made a trade to acquire the veteran pass rusher without agreeing to terms on a new deal.
“The Falcons do not have a new contract in place for Judon as part of the trade, but the two sides plan to work on one prior to the start of the season,” ESPN NFL Insider Dan Graziano explained. “I would NOT anticipate a Haason Reddick situation with Judon in Atlanta. Judon had been practicing with the Patriots even though he was unhappy with his contract.”
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic quickly responded on social media, “To be fair, the Jets didn’t anticipate a Haason Reddick situation either…”
The Jets have been criticized and roasted on national shows for their handling of the Reddick situation. Why didn’t they agree to a new contract before the trade?
It should be noted that the Jets weren’t the first team and certainly won’t be the last team to not agree to a new deal with a traded asset.
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