Haason Reddick, Jets contract saga is a ticking time bomb

With Week 1 of the NFL season in the rearview mirror, most of the players who were looking for new deals have reported to their teams and have contracts they're satisfied with. Even in Ja'Marr Chase's case, he's playing with the Cincinnati Bengals even without a new deal.

Unfortunately for the New York Jets, the same cannot be said with Haason Reddick, the last true holdout. Reddick was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to New York early this past offseason after Philadelphia decided they did not want to give him a new contract. Now, to the surprise of nobody, Reddick is upset without a new deal on the Jets and has yet to report to the team.

With Week 1 complete, you'd think both sides would show some sort of desperation. Instead, from what ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported, it sounds like there is no sign of a deal in sight. Fowler went as far as to report that multiple league executives believe that the Jets will need to explore the idea of flipping Reddick via trade because there's no hint of a contract coming anytime soon.

Haason Reddick contract saga has no end in sight

There's a lot to unpack here, and both sides are at fault. First, it's hard to understand why this is even happening. Reddick, unfortunately, has zero leverage. He's getting fined for every game and practice missed, and sitting out the entire season will not result in him entering free agency. Second, why did the Jets trade a valuable draft pick to get Reddick only to show no interest in paying him when they knew he wanted a new deal?

As for the possibility of a trade, it's hard to envision that happening. What would the Jets even get for Reddick at this point, a Day 3 pick? Reddick has to play at some point, or else he won't be allowed to test free agency and get paid. Barring a deal in which they'd get some sort of pass rusher or a valuable pick, isn't it worthwhile to hold onto Reddick even if you're only going to get him for, say, half of the regular season? The Jets are trying to win right now.

This is just a brutal situation for both sides. By holding out, all Reddick is accomplishing is getting himself fined up the wazoo, and the Jets are without a star pass rusher on their defense. We saw New York's defense get lit up in Week 1 without him. Those who hoped that loss would spark a new deal are now disappointed.

Hopefully, for the sake of both sides and the sanity of Jets fans, the two sides can come up with a deal sometime soon. Without one, we might be looking at another potential trade involving Reddick, or the possibility of Reddick returning midseason to avoid having to miss out on his chance to test the open market.