Rich Cimini, ESPN editor-in-chief
The New York Jets, who built a winning team with hopes of competing for a championship, will begin the season Monday night without their biggest acquisition of the offseason.
Pro Bowl edge rusher Haason Reddick, who is awaiting a new contract, has yet to report to the team, leaving coach Robert Saleh with little choice Saturday but to acknowledge what had become increasingly clear: It’s too late for Reddick, who was placed on injured reserve/didn’t report at the start of training camp, to be activated to face the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
While Saleh didn’t say it directly, he indicated it by saying it “would be fair” to draw that conclusion. On Thursday, he said it was still “possible” for Reddick to play if he showed up, but the team has now finished preparing for the game.
There is no end in sight to this resistance, which took a nasty turn when Reddick demanded a trade on August 12. Despite this, Saleh has continued to extend a public olive branch, refusing to reprimand Reddick for his stance.
“I am convinced that when he is here, we will welcome him with open arms,” Saleh said on Saturday. “We will love him and he will be part of this football team and he will help us win many football matches. He has to deal with financial issues, that is not my business.”
The Jets traded Reddick on March 29, sending a conditional 2026 third-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles. Reddick, who is due a non-guaranteed base salary of $14.25 million in the final year of his contract, held an introductory news conference on April 1 and has not returned to the complex because he is upset about not receiving a long-term extension, a source said.
Reddick, who incurred $2.05 million in mandatory fines for missing training camp, will now lose his game checks, which amount to about $800,000 per week. He also won’t be guaranteed his full salary. As a veteran, his salary would have been guaranteed if he were on the Week 1 roster.
In the locker room, players insisted they would be just fine without Reddick, who has 50.5 sacks over the past four seasons.
“We all love him and we’re all looking forward to him when he’s ready to come here, but we have full confidence that we’re about to do some damage, for sure,” defensive end Jermaine Johnson said Friday.
The Jets start 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 their numbers dropping.
“You can ask the teams we’ve trained against together and you’ll see on Monday,” he said. “I think we’re all feeling pretty good.”
Johnson and Reddick were supposed to be the starting defensive ends, but it’s now likely that third-year backup Micheal Clemons will replace Reddick, with Will McDonald playing passing games. They typically use a nine-man rotation on the defensive line.
“As far as our defensive line, it’s a defensive line that adjusts and rotates every play,” linebacker CJ Mosley said. “As far as some guys being out and them being out, it doesn’t really make a difference.”
The Jets, who ranked third in yards allowed last season, still have a handful of stars on defense and expect to play at an elite level even without Reddick, who was brought in to replace Huff and John Franklin-Myers (traded).
“We’re going to play really hard and play really well,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “I really believe in that.”
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