In the last calendar year, Haason Reddick has been traded, gone through a holdout that extended into the season, become a free agent and now joined his third team in that span.
Now as he settles in with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after signing a one-year, $14 million contract, Reddick looks back at his short stint with the New York Jets as "very bizarre" and "weird", and is ready to put the drama from this period of his career behind him.
"It's a fresh start," Reddick said Friday in his introductory press conference. "I know everybody's worried about last year, but last year was last year. I'm here now, different mindset, different space. I'm just ready to put the past behind me and continue to move forward. And what better place to do that than right here?"
After a 2023 season with the Eagles in which Reddick earned his second straight Pro Bowl nod, the outside linebacker was in search of adjusted compensation from Philly with one year left on his contract. The Eagles instead ended up shipping him to the Jets in March of 2024, with the widespread expectation being that he'd sign a long-term deal with New York.
However, things didn't happen that way, as talks dragged on through the course of the offseason and eventually into the regular season. Reddick missed a total of seven games last fall during his holdout before eventually agreeing to a reworked contract that added no extra years.
And once he got on the field, Reddick was not up to the level of play he'd exhibited in recent years. He had one sack in 10 games, two starts, as well as just 14 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass defensed.
That is a far cry from the numbers he put up the previous four seasons, churning out double-digit sacks from 2020 to 2023 with three different teams, with the highlight being his 2021 campaign in Philadelphia, which featured 16 sacks and a league-leading five forced fumbles (three recoveries).
Now having been given what is essentially a prove-it deal by the Buccaneers, Reddick is eager to show that last season's struggles were an anomaly, not the new norm.
"Very anxious," Reddick said. "I feel like some people may have fell asleep [on me]. But if anything, more so for myself. I'm just happy to be in a great place and be able to play football and enjoy it the way I've been able to most of my career."
A key part of the choice to come to Tampa Bay came from Reddick's familiarity with run game coordinator/outside linebackers coach Larry Foote, who coached him in his rookie season with Arizona back in 2017.
Between that connection and the feeling that the Bucs defense is a unit that's this close to being a force to be reckoned with, Reddick sees a perfect fit for him to use his experience to bring the unit to the next level, while orchestrating his own rebound season.
"After talking to Footey, after talking to coach (Todd) Bowles, their vision for how they plan to use me here. That was very intriguing, something that I knew I needed," Reddick said. "Outside of that, I felt like this was a team that was a couple of short pieces away. I felt like I could come bring my knowledge, bring my abilities, blend it with the guys that are already here. You've got great pieces. You've got Vita (Vea), you've got the young guy, Yaya (Diaby). So just knowing that I could come here and help out. I thought it would be fun."
