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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — With a 40-year-old quarterback and a 77-year-old owner whose patience could be waning, the New York Jets are all about today, not tomorrow. Trying to build a championship-caliber roster, they made a series of win-now moves in the offseason, perhaps none bigger than trading for pass rusher Haason Reddick.
With the season only four weeks away, the Jets and Reddick are at odds over his contract, prompting Reddick to request a trade Monday. No one knows when he will report to training camp — or if he will — raising the question: What’s the plan if Reddick is traded or his holdout lasts into the regular season?
The Jets released a statement saying they have no intention of trading him, but you can bet they’ve considered the possibility of having to play without him.
Reddick is supposed to be the fourth starter on the defensive line, replacing John Franklin-Myers (traded to the Denver Broncos) and joining Quinnen Williams, Jermaine Johnson and Javon Kinlaw. With Reddick holding out, they’re using third-year backup Micheal Clemons and 2023 first-round pick Will McDonald IV in Reddick’s spot.
A two-headed replacement, so to speak. Clemons can be the first- and second-down run defender. McDonald, who played sparingly as a rookie, can be a situational pass rusher.
So they’re all set, right? If general manager Joe Douglas felt comfortable with this setup, he probably wouldn’t have traded for Reddick in late March. They still hope that Reddick, who has 50.5 sacks over the past four seasons, drops his trade demand and reports to the team.
“The biggest comfort for me in all of this is that he’s a pro,” defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton said Monday, shortly before the trade request became public. “His reputation across the league is impeccable. I know he’ll be ready to rock.”
Reddick would be their most accomplished edge rusher since John Abraham in 2004, and this is a defensive system predicated on generating pressure from the front four.
Out of 119 players with at least 150 edge pass-rush plays over the past two seasons, Clemons ranks 79th in pass rush win rate, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Johnson ranks 109th, although he certainly showed big improvement last season. Reddick ranks fifth and Bryce Huff, whom the Jets lost in free agency, is fourth.
McDonald, who didn’t have enough pass-rushing chances to qualify, is being counted on to make a significant leap in Year 2. He didn’t show much in the first preseason game — 11 snaps, no tackles — but he does have innate pass-rushing skill. The concern is his size; he’s only 235 pounds. McDonald believes he has improved “in every aspect” of his game.
“He’s definitely stronger [and] a better edge setter,” Whitecotton said. “All of his game has improved that way. I see a more mature player. Not that he was a problem or anything like that. But [in terms of] understanding the game and understanding situations, he has come a long way. He’s still got a long way to go, like all of us, but I’m so excited for his progress.”
Clemons’ strength and intensity have been his calling cards, and he’s been more of a run defender so far in his career. But in Saturday’s win over the Washington Commanders, he lost outside leverage on a zone read at the goal line, allowing quarterback Jayden Daniels to score easily on a short touchdown run. The Jets’ Week 1 opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, known for motion and misdirection, will go to school on that tape.
It was a tumultuous offseason for the Jets’ defensive line. Three of the top five snap leaders from last season’s defensive line are gone — Franklin-Myers, Huff and Quinton Jefferson. The Jets let Huff walk (he replaced Reddick with the Philadelphia Eagles), and they traded Franklin-Myers because they had Reddick. Or so they thought.
Without Reddick, the defense still has star power with Williams (Pro Bowl), linebacker Quincy Williams (All-Pro) and cornerback Sauce Gardner (All-Pro). But their sack potential and defensive line depth takes a hit without him.
“We feel like we already have a lot of supercharged hellcats on that defense that can roll,” Douglas said after the Reddick trade. “[He’s] just another one to add to the group.”
For now, they have to rely on the original hellcats.
