When NFL teams do swing for the fences with trades, we’ve seen it pay off in recent years.
For example, when the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions swapped quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff before the 2021 season, the Rams ended up winning a Super Bowl that year. The Lions and Goff could get theirs this year.
The Washington Commanders could become playoff contenders in 2024 and moving forward by making a similar bold move with a trade for disgruntled New York Jets outside linebacker Haason Reddick.
Reddick has already incurred a staggering $5.8 million in fines by sitting out the preseason and training camp over a contract dispute that shows no signs of fixing itself.
While the Jets have said they expect Reddick to show up to work, it’s hard to believe the right deal wouldn’t draw them in. One proposed deal might be the Commanders sending a third-round pick and two seventh-round picks to the Jets in exchange for Reddick, along with signing the two-time Pro Bowler to a 2-year, $50 million contract extension.
The New York Giants managed a similar deal in March 2024 when they traded a 2024 second-round pick and 2024 fifth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for edge rusher Brian Burns, who they signed to a 5-year, $141 million contract extension.
Reddick Wants Money Similar to NFL’s Best OLBs
Reddick, understandably, wants to be paid like one of the NFL’s best edge rushers, which he thought he was going to be when the was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Jets in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in April 2024.
Reddick is in the final season of a 3-year, $45 million deal he signed with the Eagles in 2022. Since he signed his last contract, Reddick has had 27.0 sacks, earned NFL All-Pro honors in 2022 and back-to-back Pro Bowl nods in 2022 and 2023.
According to The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt, the Eagles weren’t willing to give Reddick the $25 million per year he wanted and the Jets were led to believe he would report without a deal in place and play the final yea of his current deal.
“The Jets did offer Reddick an extension prior to the trade, but it was below market value and Reddick rejected it,” Rosenblatt wrote.
The last 4 seasons, Reddick has been one of the NFL’s elite pass rushers. He has 50.5 sacks in that stretch, including at least 11.0 sacks each season and a career-high 16.0 sacks in 2022, along with leading the NFL with 5 forced fumbles.
Bosa Leads List of Highest-Paid Edge Rushers
According to Over the Cap, the highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL is San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, who has a 5-year, $170 million signed in Sept. 2023 that pays him an average of $34 million per year.
Getting Reddick paid to the tune of $25 million per year would put him in the top 5 highest-paid edge rushers in the NFL and tie him with Cleveland Browns edge rusher and 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in terms of annual salary.
In terms of on-field production, only Garrett and Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt have more sacks than Reddick in the last 4 seasons.
