After building a team to win now and compete for a championship, the New York Jets will begin the season on Monday night without their biggest offseason acquisition.
With Pro Bowl edge rusher Haason Reddick not reporting to the team seeking a new contract, coach Robert Saleh had no choice but to acknowledge what was becoming increasingly clear on Saturday: Reddick, who was placed on the reserve/did not report list at the start of training camp, is too late to return to face the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
Saleh didn’t say so directly but hinted at it, saying it would be “fair” to conclude so. On Thursday, Saleh said Redick was “still available” to play if he were available, but the team has already completed its preparations for the game.
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With no end in sight to the resistance, the situation escalated when Redick demanded a trade on August 12. Despite this, Saleh continued to publicly extend a conciliatory hand and refused to reprimand Redick for his stance.
“If he comes here we will welcome him with open arms. We love him very much. He will be part of this football team and help us win a lot of football games. He has to sort his financial matters but that doesn’t concern me,” Saleh said Saturday.
The Jets acquired Redick on March 29 in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for a conditional 2026 third-round draft pick. Redick, who is set to receive a non-guaranteed base salary of $14.25 million in the final year of his contract, held his introductory press conference on April 1 and has not returned to the team, sources said, upset that he was not granted a long-term contract extension.
Redick, who was fined $2.05 million for missing training camp, will now lose his game checks (about $800,000 per week) and his entire guaranteed salary, which as a vested veteran would have been guaranteed had he been on the Week 1 roster.
In the locker room, players insisted they were OK without Redick, who has recorded 50.5 sacks over the past four seasons.
“We all love him and we’re all waiting when he’s ready to get here, but we’re definitely confident we’re going to do some damage,” defensive end Jermaine Johnson said Friday.
The Jets will enter the season without three key members of last season’s defensive line, including sack leader Bryce Huff, but Johnson said he’s not worried about a decline in their strength.
“You’ll find out on Monday, just ask the teams that we practiced with,” he said. “I think we’re all feeling pretty good.”
Johnson and Reddick were expected to be the starters at defensive end, but third-year reserve Michael Clemons is expected to replace Reddick with Will McDonald playing on passing downs. The Jets typically use a nine-man rotation on the defensive line.
“Our defensive line is a defensive line that adjusts and rotates play by play,” linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “If some guys aren’t here or some guys are gone, it doesn’t really affect us that much.”
The Jets, who were third in yards allowed last season, still have several stars on the defensive line and are expected to play at an elite level even without Huff and Redick, who was acquired in exchange for John Franklin Myers (via a trade).
“We’re going to play really hard and we’re going to play really well,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “I truly believe that.”