The Washington Commanders have found their name front and center when it comes to the ongoing drama surrounding former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett’s request to be traded from the Cleveland Browns — a high stakes game that is going to cost whatever team gets Garrett dearly.
While Garrett might be worth the cost, it’s a big risk. The Commanders might have to give up multiple first round draft picks to get him – something any NFL team should be loathe to part ways with — not to mention the $45 million he’s still owed over the next 2 seasons.
A better alternative for the Commanders might be to find a free agent edge rusher who has shown to be dominant in the past but needs to reboot his career after his own drama. Enter 2-time NFL All-Pro Haason Reddick, who is coming off a tumultuous season with the New York Jets in 2024 and would be a perfect fit for the Commanders.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox has Reddick at No. 28 on his list of the Top 50 NFL free agents in the 2025 cycle.
“Haason Reddick’s forgettable lone season with the Jets did nothing to help his free-agency stock (in 2024),” Knox wrote on February 17. “He held out for a new contract for nearly half of the season, and he only made a marginal impact for the Jets upon his return. However, the 30-year-old has been a high-level producer before. Last season with the Philadelphia Eagles, Reddick amassed 11 sacks, 13 tackles for loss and 35 quarterback pressures. He had four straight seasons of double-digit-sacks before he was traded to New York.”
Reddick Had Ugly Holdout With Jets
When the Jets traded a 2026 third round pick to the Eagles for Reddick in March 2024, they thought they were going to get a player in the last season of his contract who could be the difference for a defense that seemed on the verge of becoming a playoff team.
Reddick thought he was getting a new contract. Thus, the drama. Reddick held out of minicamp and training camp and requested a trade in August. He missed the first 6 games of the regular season, incurring massive fines until he returned to the Jets for the final 10 games of the regular season. He had his worst year since 2019 with just 1.0 sack as his team stumbled to a 5-12 record.
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.
Now, one of the NFL’s elite pass rushers over the last 5 years is looking for a new home — and he will likely be doing it at a drastically reduced rate.
What Reddick Might Cost Commanders as Free Agent
The Commanders hit pay dirt in 2024 by signing free agent edge rusher Dante Fowler to a 1-year, $3.25 million contract and watched him go off for a team high 11.0 sacks — his highest sack total since 12.0 sacks in 2019.
Reddick, who had 50.5 sacks from 2020 to 2023, could even be looked at as an upgrade over Fowler. Depending on how teams view Reddick at this point — which can’t be good — the Commanders might start with a 1-year, $5 million contract offer laced with big-time incentives and go up to $7.5 million if needed.
