Drama! Jets decline Haason Reddick's trade request as two sides dig all the way in

The New York Jets are Jetsing!

After striking up a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for Pro Bowl linebacker Haason Reddick earlier this offseason, all seemed well in New York. Aaron Rodgers was coming back, a dark storm had passed, and now the front office was really going for it.

Reddick, 29, arrived in New York with expectations for a new contract. He wasn't going to show up on an expiring deal, but the Jets knew that when the trade went through. You don't trade for somebody unless there are plans to amicably resolve contract disputes and figure out a long-term future together.

Right?

Uh, well, normally. That is how functional front offices operate. The Jets, on the other hand, appear to have stepped in something stinky. Reddick is in the middle of an active holdout and there has been little momentum in extension talks. So little momentum, in fact, that Reddick is now demanding a trade (again) before he has even steps on the field in a Jets uniform.

Only in East Rutherford, folks. Only in East Rutherford.

That is not where this drama ends, though. Reddick has asked out and the Jets are telling him... no. GM Joe Douglas released a statement in which he expresses an expectation that Reddick will report, lest the talented edge rusher face financial penalties in accordance with the CBA.

Jets GM Joe Douglas declines Haason Reddick's trade request in hilarious twist

This is peak Jets. There's just no way that team can have a normal, distraction-free season. It has been ordained by the football gods, some sort of weird and inexplicable curse. The Jets cannot have nice things.

One would expect New York and Reddick to eventually make their way back to the negotiating table, but this is an ugly (and wholly avoidable) situation. The Jets should not have dealt for Reddick without a clear plan in place to extend his contract and establish a base level of contentedness. That is just... GMing 101.

I am not an NFL general manager, so far be it from me to tell Joe Douglas how to do his job. There is an inherent level of risky necessary to contending in the NFL. A front office that sits on its hands and second-guesses major moves will never get anywhere. By that same token, there is a certain set of boxes one must check before completing a trade. The main one? Making sure the player you're trading for will show up.

There is plenty of time to resolve this before the season, but it's hard not to giggle at New York's persistent incompetence. This is just the latest in a long line of distractions from football's greatest soap opera. Reddick would've meaningfully improved the Jets' pass rush with his pressure off the edge. Now let's see if that ever comes to fruition, or if the Jets buckle first and reroute the former Super Bowl champ to his third team in a year.

Last season saw Reddick make his second straight Pro Bowl appearance. He registered 11 sacks, 38 tackles, and 23 QB hits across 17 starts. If the Jets want that in the rotation opening week, there is obviously some ground to make up.