Yet another wrinkle arrived Thursday for the New York Jets’ ongoing Haason Reddick situation.
The Pro Bowl pass rusher’s agents at Creative Artists Agency have parted ways with him amid a contract holdout that goes back to the start of training camp, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, CAA had been trying to broker a deal for an extension with the Jets while Reddick himself has been dug in, leading to a break-up over “philosophical differences.” That’s hardly surprising given how poorly the past few months have gone for everyone hoping to see Reddick play in a Jets uniform.
The Jets traded for Reddick in March with the hope that he could boost a defense that tied for seventh in the NFL in stats and ranked fifth in pressure rate. Only T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett and Trey Hendrickson had more sacks in the previous four seasons than Reddick’s 50.5, who reached double digits in each of those seasons.
Crucially, the Jets made that trade with the Philadelphia Eagles without a deal in place for a contract extension. Reddick was scheduled to hit free agency after this season. Without a deal in place, Reddick opted to hold out from training camp, then requested a trade from a team that acquired him months earlier. The Jets declined the request.
With Reddick’s holdout now stretching into the regular season, he has reportedly forfeited more than $5 million in NFL-mandated fines and lost more than $4 million in lost game checks. He has a base salary of $14.25 million this season, per Spotrac.
The situation was getting ugly enough that Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers took a swipe at Reddick’s agents last month while complaining about an article painting the Jets as being in “complete disarray.” As it turns out, Reddick’s agents weren’t happy either.