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Dealing Haason Reddick appeared inevitable based on how the Philadelphia Eagles offseason transpired. Philadelphia signed Bryce huff on the first day of free agency and restructured Josh Sweat’s contract a week later, setting the stage for Reddick’s final days as an Eagle.
Reddick wanted a pay raise for past performance and it was easy to understand his case. Only Reddick and Myles Garrett had 10+ sacks in each of the last four years — and Reddick accomplished the feat with four different defensive coordinators and three different teams. The Eagles paid Reddick an average annual salary of $15 million per season, good for 20th amongst edge rushers in the NFL.
By all accounts, Reddick was underpaid. The Eagles weren’t going to give Reddick a significant bump in pay or a new contract for a 30-year-old pass rusher. Reddick was traded to the New York Jets for a conditional 2026 third-round pick (which is bumped up to a second-round pick if Reddick gets 10+ sacks or plays 67.5% of the snaps).
The trade did make sense for the Eagles, yet they are taking a huge gamble by moving on from Reddick when he has some good football left.
One-year left on the deal
The Eagles could have altered Reddick’s deal similar to how they restructured Sweat’s contract, allowing him to walk after the 2024 season as a free agent. The 2026 conditional third-round pick is valuable for the franchise to remain at a Super Bowl contending level in future years, yet Reddick keeps the team in Super Bowl contention for 2024.
Regardless how the Eagles pass rush fared at the end of the year last season (29th in sack rate at 5.3%), Reddick was still the best pass rusher of a group that disappeared. His 2.5 sacks trailed only Fletcher Cox during that stretch and his 7.9% pressure rate also trailed only Cox.
The Eagles lost their two best pass rushers this offseason with Cox retiring and trading Reddick. By signing off,…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/haason-reddick-trade-why-eagles-are-taking-a-major-gamble-by-dealing-best-pass-rusher-to-jets/
Author : Jeff Kerr
Publish date : 2024-03-30 16:20:40
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