The New York Jets, who put together a win-now roster with hopes of competing for a championship, will begin the season Monday night without their biggest acquisition of the offseason.
Pro Bowl defensive back Haason Reddick, who is awaiting a new contract, has yet to report to the team, leaving coach Robert Saleh with little choice Saturday but to acknowledge what had become increasingly apparent: It's too late for Reddick, placed on the reserve/failed to report list at the start of training camp, to be activated to face the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium.
While Saleh didn't say it directly, he did indicate it by saying that it would be “fair” to draw that conclusion. On Thursday, he said it was still “feasible” for Reddick to play if he showed up, but that the team had already completed its preparation for the game.
There is no end in sight for Reddick's stance, which took an ugly turn when Reddick requested a trade on Aug. 12. Despite that, Saleh continued to extend an olive branch publicly, refusing to reprimand Reddick for his stance.
“I will remain firm that when he comes here we will welcome him with open arms,” Saleh said Saturday. “We will love him very much, he will be part of this football team and he will help us win many games. He has to solve the financial problems, which are not my concern.”
The Jets acquired Reddick on March 29, sending a conditional third-round pick in the 2026 draft to the Philadelphia Eagles. Reddick, who was set to receive a nonguaranteed base salary of $14.25 million in the final year of his contract, held an introductory news conference on April 1 and has not returned to the facility because he is upset about not receiving a long-term extension, a source said.
Reddick, who incurred mandatory fines of $2.05 million for missing training camp, will now lose his per-game paychecks, roughly $800,000 per week. He also will not have his entire salary guaranteed. As a vested veteran, his salary would have been guaranteed had he been on the Week 1 roster.
In the locker room, players insisted they will be fine without Reddick, who has 50.5 sacks over the past four seasons.
“We all love him and we're waiting for him to be ready to get here, but we have full confidence that we're about to do some damage, for sure,” defensive end Jermaine Johnson said Friday.
The Jets begin the season without three key members of last season's defensive line, including sack leader Bryce Huff, but Johnson said he wasn't worried about a drop-off.
“You can ask the teams we practiced against together and then you'll see on Monday,” he said. “I think we all feel pretty good.”
Johnson and Reddick were supposed to be the starting defensive ends, but third-year backup Michael Clemons is now likely to replace Reddick, with Will McDonald playing passing snaps. The Jets typically use a nine-man rotation on the defensive line.
“As far as our defensive line goes, it's a defensive line that adjusts and rotates every play,” linebacker CJ Mosley said. “As far as some people not being here and some people leaving, that doesn't really make a difference.”
The Jets, who ranked third in yards allowed last season, still have a handful of stars on defense and hope to play at an elite level even without Reddick, who was signed to replace Huff and John Franklin-Myers (traded).
“We're going to play very hard and we're going to play very well,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “I really believe that.”
