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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets edge rusher Haason Reddick didn’t report Tuesday for the start of the team’s two-day minicamp, escalating a contract dispute between the Jets and their biggest offseason acquisition.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers also is not attending minicamp. Coach Robert Saleh called it an “inexcused” absence, meaning Rodgers is subject to a fine. Saleh said Rodgers told him beforehand that he had a previous commitment to an event that “is important to him.”
Reddick, 29, acquired in a March 29 trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, is due to make a non-guaranteed $14.25 million in base pay in the final year of the contract he signed with the Eagles in 2022. His no-show caps an offseason in which he skipped all voluntary workouts.
Because the minicamp is mandatory, Reddick is subject to a $16,953 fine for missing the first day and $33,908 for the second day. He already has forfeited a $250,000 workout bonus.
General manager Joe Douglas was ecstatic when he traded a 2026 conditional third-round pick for Reddick, calling him “an electric presence off the edge.” It was widely known that Reddick wanted a new contract, but the Jets made the trade anyway, perhaps thinking they would be able to satisfy his demands or that he’d drop the issue in time.
It creates a poor optic for the Jets, who are so committed to Reddick as an every-down player that they traded longtime starting end John Franklin-Myers to the Denver Broncos during the draft. Douglas explained that move by saying they couldn’t afford to keep Franklin-Myers after absorbing Reddick’s contract.
Before that, the Jets lost sack leader Bryce Huff in free agency to the Eagles, who gave the 26-year-old pass-rusher a three-year, $51 million contract, including a $34 million guarantee. The Eagles preferred to invest in the younger Huff than reinvesting in Reddick, who was given permission to seek a trade.
Typically, Douglas doesn’t extend contracts for players 29 and older or those acquired in trades. The one and only veteran in that age category to get an extension was tight end Ryan Griffin, who was 29 when he received a three-year, $9.6 million contract in November 2019.
A year ago, the Jets renegotiated Rodgers’ contract after acquiring him in a trade, but his reworked deal actually represented a pay cut to help create cap flexibility.
The Jets were drawn to Reddick because of his pass-rushing ability. He’s a two-time Pro Bowl player who has recorded 50.5 sacks over the past four seasons, fourth-most in the NFL over that span.
Without Reddick, the Jets’ top defensive ends are starter Jermaine Johnson, Micheal Clemons and Will McDonald IV, a 2023 first-round pick who is being counted on to help replace Huff as a situational rusher.