Haason Reddick suffered a thumb injury recently, and the setback will require surgery. The Eagles pass rusher will undergo surgery in an effort to be ready by Week 1, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The standout linebacker suffered the injury during the Eagles’ Monday practice, and it does not appear he will be practicing again for the foreseeable future. The Eagles will prioritize Reddick’s regular-season availability. Reddick, who has enjoyed a breakthrough stretch upon being moved back to an edge role, did not miss a game during his Eagles debut season.
Reddick led the Eagles’ push for the single-season sack record last season, tallying a career-high 16. He has now recorded double-digit sacks in three straight seasons — for three different teams. After the Cardinals tried the Temple product as an off-ball linebacker early in his career, Reddick was reborn as a pass rusher following a Chandler Jones injury in 2020. The Panthers then gave him a one-year deal, and he registered 11 sacks in 2021. The former first-rounder parlayed that into a three-year, $45MM Eagles contract — one that already looks team-friendly after the season Reddick produced.
The Eagles fell two sacks shy of the 1984 Bears’ sack record, finishing with 70. That still led the league by a considerable margin, and Reddick tied for the league lead with five forced fumbles as well. The ex-Cardinals draftee helped secure the Eagles’ Super Bowl LVII berth as well, adding 3.5 playoff sacks.
While it sounds like the seventh-year veteran is expected back by Week 1, as The Athletic’s Zach Berman indicates (via Twitter), this does form an early hurdle for the ascending sack artist and the defending NFC champions’ pass rush.
If Reddick were to miss early-season time, the Eagles would obviously be impacted. But the team remains deep on the edge. Josh Sweat is signed long term, and the Eagles reupped Brandon Graham in March. While Robert Quinn is no longer on the roster, the Eagles still have Derek Barnett — who was lost with an ACL tear in Week 1 of last season — and drafted Nolan Smith in the first round. Smith received Reddick comps coming into the draft. Reddick’s thumb malady should give the Georgia product more opportunities ahead of his rookie year.