Aidan Hutchinson‘s gruesome injury gives the Lions a clear need as they continue to move toward Super Bowl contention. Nearly three weeks remain until the trade deadline, and Detroit has now touched base with the top edge rusher available.
The Lions have checked in with Haason Reddick‘s camp, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. While this could qualify as due diligence, the Lions make sense as a Reddick landing spot. The Jets gave the holdout edge rusher permission to seek a trade, doing so shortly after the sides had talked about a solution that brings him to New York.
At odds with the Jets since shortly after his arrival in late March, Reddick has passed on six game checks. The standout edge player is attached to a $14.5MM base salary, though the prorated amount is now just more than $9MM. The Lions held more than $28MM in cap space before their Alim McNeill extension; that number placed them in fourth in the NFL.
The Jets probably are not too keen on doing Reddick any favors by picking up some of his salary to facilitate a trade, but at this point, the team appears willing to see what can be had for the disgruntled edge performer. Reddick has sought a multiyear deal; the Jets have not budged and do not plan to. For an extended period, the Jets were not willing to discuss trading Reddick. This would bring a strange end to a chapter that has not reflected well on the team, but the earlier the Jets move on, the better their compensation stands to be. Reddick’s Eagles-constructed contract runs through season’s end, and the 30-year-old defender is running the risk of minimizing his 2025 free agent market by staying off the field.
Reddick’s 50.5 sacks from 2020-23 rank fourth in the NFL. The Lions have run into issues in terms of Hutchinson complementary players for most of the star defender’s tenure. Now that the league’s 2024 sack leader is gone (almost definitely for the season), it stands to reason Detroit will need more help.
“Look, we’re open to anything. Brad’s working through it,” Dan Campbell said of GM Brad Holmes. “We are not going to be in a hurry. Brad would tell you — man, he’s doing his homework. The crew is doing their homework. They’re looking at everything. But we’re not just going to make a move to make it. It’s got to be right. It’s got to be the right guy and the pieces have to fall in place.”
The Lions signed Marcus Davenport to a one-year, $6.5MM deal and still roster the likes of Josh Paschal and James Houston. Of that trio, only Davenport has a sack. The oft-injured former first-rounder has tallied a half-sack and is on IR, where he spent most of his Vikings tenure. Hutchinson’s 7.5 lead the Lions by five, highlighting the need — despite Campbell’s comments conveying patience.
Reddick would check this box quickly, though the Lions authorizing another extension — for a player who has not played since an Eagles wild-card loss — would be unexpected. The Jets offered Reddick multiple deals that sweetened his 2024 salary, but in viewing the team has having reneged on a pledge to conduct true extension talks, the D-end stayed away from the team for months.
The Lions have already paid Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, David Montgomery and McNeill this year. Would they be willing to fit in a Reddick payment if it meant a better chance at the first Super Bowl berth in team history?
Jets need to get a 3 from lions for Reddick. Lions need a DE bad with hutch out and Reddick could have huge impact from a championship team.
A 3rd round pick is way way way out of range. It will most likely be a straight late round or a mid round swap. Jets have zero leverage, they look so bad already and getting zero for Huff would be an all time blunder. They are trying to salvage pennies here.
A third round pick is too high, but if it were only going to be a late round pick, they might as well let him sit out.
The Jets have looked bad so many times in the past that there is almost no point in trying to save face. Everyone knows they can’t resist embarrassing themselves.
Understood, but I believe I saw that the pick the Jets owe the Eagles jumps to a 2nd if they trade him to an NFC team, so the Jets would be hesitant to do that without a higher amount of compensation than they would get from an AFC team. I could see the Jets looking for at least a 4th from the Lions.
Yep, Eagles GM Howie Roseman shrewdly put that poison pill in to try to keep Reddick from the NFC. However, an NFC team will pay. The 2nd or 3rd round compensation headed to PHI are 2026 picks which are generally worth a round less than picks one year out (2025 3rd ~= 2026 2nd).
Interestingly, Detroit traded their 2025 3rd during the past draft for pick #126 to take OT Giovanni Manu, a pick ironically now owned by the Jets!
Will he show up for work?
With a new contract. It’s the same deal as he told the Jets back in March.
If Brad Holmes put that roster together and has 28 million in Cap Space I know who should be Executive of the Year.
If I were the Lions, I would check in on Crosby and Garrett. Two teams that are going nowhere might be willing to listen.
They did check in on Crosby, the Raiders aren’t budging. They don’t want to trade him…they consider him a cornerstone piece for the future.
Doesn’t the pick the Jets owe for him become a 2nd if he’s traded to the NFC?