Haason Reddick's agent was the biggest winner on Monday Night Football

The San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets entered their regular season opener touting two of the league’s most vaunted defensive units.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh earned his current position by helping the 49ers develop into the defensive juggernaut they are today. In New York, he curated an equally imposing unit with terrific players at every level of the defense.

Despite New York’s defense, the 49ers pulled out a 32-19 victory over the Jets in the season opener on Monday night. San Francisco’s defense, led by defensive end Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner, throttled the Jets offense early, but New York didn’t find nearly as much success against the 49ers offense.

New York attempted to bolster their defense by acquiring outside linebacker Haason Reddick from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a conditional 2026 third-round pick that could become a second-round pick. The Jets' defense seemed poised to excel once again, but Reddick never reported to his new team. The veteran has remained firm in his demand for a new contract. After the Jets’ primetime loss on Monday night, he may have gained some leverage.

Jets may need Haason Reddick more than they thought

The 49ers offensive game plan was evident from the start. San Francisco wisely avoided throwing toward cornerback Sauce Gardner or running through defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and linebacker Quincy Williams. Instead, the Niners attacked the C-gap — a denotation for the space between an offensive tackle and tight end.

Coincidentally, that’s exactly where the Jets were expecting Reddick to play. 

In 2023, Reddick earned a run defense grade of 63.7 from Pro Football Focus. Although that ranked 45th among all qualifying edge rushers, the seven-year veteran also logged the 14th-most snaps and excelled against pulling guards and gap schemes. Reddick recorded 13 tackles for loss and had an average tackle depth of 0.4 yards, according to Shane Haff of Edge of Philly Sports.

Despite playing without running back Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers bullied the Jets on the ground with 38 carries for 180 rushing yards. The Jets defense was unable to stop San Francisco’s perimeter runs, which limited New York’s time of possession to just 21 minutes and 20 seconds. That’s the least amount of time that Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has possessed the ball in any of his 225 career starts, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

After the primetime blunder, the Jets may have more urgency to reach an agreement with Reddick, who is in the final year of his contract.

Reddick was scheduled to make $14.5 million during the 2024 season, but he has already accrued nearly one-third of that amount in fines for his extended holdout. The expiring contract — and his asking price — were a large part of the reason Philadelphia traded the pass rusher, and why the Jets were able to acquire him for a relatively low cost.