Ahead of their season opener on Monday Night Football, the 49ers are returning to full strength.
San Francisco left tackle Trent Williams has agreed on a new contract. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million contract last week, and running back Christian McCaffrey is back after missing most of training camp and the preseason after suffering a calf strain.
The same cannot be said about the Jets, as pass rusher Haason Reddick continues to hold out due to his contract situation. Jets head coach Robert Saleh told reporters on Tuesday that Reddick’s status hasn’t changed but left open the possibility of him still playing against the 49ers.
“Really, it’s going to be dependent on how he looks,” Saleh said. “If he shows up, we will put him in some work with the training staff to see where he is at and communicate with him on what we can figure out.”
With Williams returning to the 49ers, Reddick is now the lone holdout in the league, and there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight. The Jets will have a light practice on Tuesday and a mandatory day off on Wednesday before returning to the practice field on Thursday.
The Jets acquired Reddick in a trade with the Eagles in late March after the 29-year-old requested a trade from Philadelphia entering the final year of a three-year, $45 million contract after having zero guaranteed money remaining on his contract.
The Jets offered Reddick a new contract before the trade was made, but he declined the offer. Gang Green made the trade anyway, thinking Reddick would still report to the facility and the two sides could work on an extension once he began practicing and integrating with the team.
Since then, Reddick has been in the Jets facility once on April 1 to take his physical and to hold his introductory press conference. It was there that Reddick spoke about a new beginning with the Jets and said, “I don’t think anybody is ready for what’s about to happen.”
Reddick was correct: No one was ready for an extended holdout. He missed all of the Jets OTAs (organized team activities) and mandatory minicamp. Because of that, Reddick forfeited a $250,000 workout bonus and was fined $100,000 for missing minicamp.
When the Jets reported for training camp on July 23, Reddick was a no-show. He was fined $50,000 for every day he missed and was subject to other fines the Jets could impose.
Then, on Aug. 12, Reddick informed the Jets that he wanted to be traded, but Jets general manager Joe Douglas has, to this point, declined his request.
Reddick registered over $2 million in fines for missing training camp, and more will come if he doesn’t report for Week 1 against the 49ers. If he continues to hold out, Reddick will be fined close to $800,000 for each week he misses.
Saleh admitted that he hasn’t spoken to Reddick since before training camp.
“There’s no disappointment,” Saleh said. “You got your roster, you got the guys who are here and those are the guys you focus on. Hopefully, eventually he does get here and when he does get here, we are going to embrace him, love him and do everything that we can to put him in position to be successful to achieve the goals that he is trying to achieve.”
When acquired, Gang Green hoped Reddick, who has registered 50.5 sacks the previous four seasons, would help its pass rush after Bryce Huff signed with the Eagles during the offseason. Without Reddick, the Jets have significant questions on the defensive line. Gang Green is missing 19.5 sacks from last season’s team.
Not only did Huff depart, but so did Quinton Jefferson, who can play both on the inside and as a defensive end on the outside. The Jets also traded John Franklin-Myers to the Broncos after they couldn’t afford both him and Reddick on the roster.
Reddick’s absence will put a larger spotlight on Will McDonald and Micheal Clemons. McDonald was selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft but only registered 14 tackles and three sacks as a rotational player last season. During his two seasons with the Jets, Clemons has 63 tackles and three sacks with only one start in the league.
“I got a lot of confidence in all of them,” Saleh said about his defensive line group. “Micheal looks a lot different than he did a year ago. From our standpoint, we recommended he gain 30 pounds, and in hindsight, not a good idea. But he’s lighter, he’s faster, he’s leaner, he still has all his power and he is playing really well.
“We got plenty to go rush the passer. Out interior guys, Quinnen [Williams], [Javon] Kinlaw, Solly [Solomon Thomas] will produce an awful a lot for us. So I’m not overly concerned at all.”
