The San Francisco 49ers‘ defensive front took a major blow when Alfred Collins suffered a season-ending injury just days before the Week 1 opener against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia.
Factor in that the 49ers still don’t have their 2025 1st-round pick, Mykel Williams, who is coming off a torn ACL, and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa is also coming off a torn ACL, and it makes sense that San Francisco might want to bring in some help to rush the passer.
The Athletic’s Matt Barrows put 2-time Pro Bowl edge rusher and free agent Haason Reddick at the top of the list of players who might be good fits for the 49ers if they make that move.
Reddick played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a 1-year, $14 million contract in 2025.
“There are also a lot more quality defensive ends available, a list that includes Haason Reddick, Leonard Floyd and Joey Bosa,” Barrows wrote on September 15. “If the team wants another Romello Height-like player or is worried it’s not getting enough out of Height, Reddick would be a good solution. He’s a lighter-bodied edge player who’s played in systems similar to the one defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is running this year.”
Haason Reddick Flamed Out With Bucs in 2025
Reddick, who has approximately $80.5 million in career earnings, is a 2-time Pro Bowler and NFL All-Pro who flamed out with the Buccaneers on a 1-year, $14 million contract in 2025.
After 2 messy contract disputes with consecutive teams — the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets — cost him most of the 2024 season, Reddick had just 2.5 sacks in 13 games with the Buccaneers while the franchise missed the playoffs for the 1st time since 2019.
Reddick 1 of NFL’s Top Remaining Free Agents
In May, Reddick was still on ESPN’s list of the Top 20 available free agents.
“Reddick had 2.5 sacks and 23 pressures for the Bucs last season,” ESPN’s Matt Bowen wrote. “With 61.5 career sacks, he could draw interest from teams that like to scheme their pass rushers out of loaded fronts.”
There was plenty of opportunity for Reddick to continue banking big paychecks with even a middling performance in 2025, and the Buccaneers were initially praised for signing him.
“Tampa Bay also took what I thought was a worthwhile gamble on Reddick at one year, $14 million,” ESPN’s Seth Walder wrote in July 2025. “Reddick is coming off a lost season that featured a long contract standoff, 10 games played and only one sack. But Reddick has been an elite pass rusher (he posted double-digit sacks every year from 2020 to 2023) and could help Todd Bowles’ defense if he bounces back.”
Haason Reddick’s Struggles Seem Self-Inflicted
The Jets traded a 2026 3rd-round pick to the Eagles for Reddick in March 2024 and thought they were getting a playmaker for a team ready to make a playoff push.
Reddick thought he was getting a new contract. He held out of minicamp and training camp and requested a trade in August. Then, he missed the first 6 games of the regular season, incurring massive fines until he returned to the Jets for the final 10 games. He had his worst year since 2019 with just 1.0 sack as the Jets went 5-12 overall.
It was a bad look for Reddick, who was due to make almost $16 million in 2024 in the final season of the 3-year, $45 million contract he signed with the Eagles in March 2022.
Bucs’ $80 Million Free-Agent Bust Called Top Fit for 49ers