1 week Ago
There are a lot of questions surrounding the Jets, whose season is teetering on the brink – and potentially tipping past it – after four straight losses dropped them to 2-5. And this week, they’re adding another unpredictable element to the mix with Haason Reddick returning from his protracted holdout. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich already had a “brief” sit-down with Reddick, who reported to the facility Monday a day after he and the Jets reached a one-year deal that ended his seven-week holdout.
And Ulbrich confirmed the only thing we know for sure about Reddick: the plan is for him to play a major role in this defense. “He’s fired up, ready to get rolling with us,” Ulbrich said, adding that Reddick still had to get through his standard physical before the team would come up with their plan to get him up to game speed. “But then he’s going to be fully integrated into all we do.
” Reddick will almost certainly plug in as the second starting edge rusher, alongside second-year pro Will McDonald. But beyond that, it’s hard to know what to expect from Reddick after his contentious holdout that kept him away for the first seven games. The most pressing questions revolve around Reddick’s overall readiness to play and if he was able to stay sharp enough after not participating in a practice since his last game for the Eagles in January.
Ulbrich wasn’t willing to pencil Reddick into Sunday’s lineup against the Patriots. “You know, I think it’s a little too early to say that,” Ulbrich said. “We got to see what he looks like.
He’s in great spirits. He says he’s in great shape. Obviously, he’s got to get out there and spend some time with us first for us to make that decision.
” Surely the Jets have a better idea of what Reddick is working with Tuesday morning after the medical staff and coaching staff had him in the building for the day, and likely put him through some non-football drill work. But Tuesday is an off day for the players. So the real test will start with Wednesday’s practice and if Reddick can build on it Thursday and Friday to give Ulbrich the confidence to work him onto the field Sunday.
But the questions don’t stop with Reddick’s sharpness, both physically and from a football standpoint. His contentious holdout leaves in him in a potentially tough spot with the fans – who are already frustrated with the team’s poor start. If he starts slowly, they’re probably not going to give him the benefit of the doubt and how Reddick handles it could make it better or worse.
And the locker room is also in a delicate place with Reddick joining less than two weeks after the shocking firing of coach Robert Saleh, which has yet to spark this team, and the players facing a start that has fallen far short of their own expectations, but also a barrage of criticism from their fans and the media – on a local and national level. Players have been consistently supportive of Reddick, saying they understand the nature of the business and that they’d accept him fully once his business was taken care of. And that was the message once again as Reddick arrived.
“We’re super excited about Haason,” defensive lineman Solomon Thomas said. “We’re going to welcome him with open arms. We’re happy for him.
We’re happy that his holdout’s over and that he gets his money that he deserves. ..
. He’s an amazing player and I can’t wait to be his teammate.” Linebacker Quincy Williams said he spoke with Reddick on Monday and came away impressed.
“He’s very excited,” Williams said. “Excited he’s here. And then on top of that he’s very excited to get into the playbook so he can start helping us get some Ws.
” Thomas dismissed the notion that it could be weird after Reddick watched from afar as the Jets struggled through this early-season losing streak. And Ulbrich did too. “I’m confident that this locker room is going to embrace him with open arms, I really am.
They know what he provides us from a football standpoint, and in time, they’re going to get to know the human-being whose as high a character person in this league as there is.” But it’s a loaded situation at a tense moment for the Jets and no matter what they say, everyone will be watching Reddick closely to see how he handles a situation that has the potential to be explosively awkward. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust.
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