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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
Dropped by his longtime agency last week, New York Jets holdout pass rusher Haason Reddick has hired Drew Rosenhaus and Ryan Matha as his new agents.
Rosenhaus, who already has talked with the Jets, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that he expressed hope that the dispute can be resolved soon.
“We look forward to working with the Jets to get this resolved as soon as possible,” Rosenhaus told Schefter. “Haason would like to be a New York Jet for years to come, and our goal is to make that happen.”
If Reddick truly wants to remain with the Jets, it would represent in about face because he requested a trade on August 12. The Jets have said they won’t trade him.
Rosenhaus said he’s planning to attend Monday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills, where he presumably will meet with Jets officials.
Reddick, 30, acquired in a March 29 trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, is the NFL’s last remaining holdout. The saga took a strange turn last week when CAA dropped him as a client. CAA and the Jets were conducting talks toward a renegotiated contract, but Reddick apparently refused to budge from his desire to get a long-term extension.
This has been one of the most bizarre holdouts in recent NFL history. Just last week, Jets owner Woody Johnson issued a public plea to Reddick, telling reporters, “Haason, get in your car, drive down I-95 and come to the New York Jets. We can meet you and give you an escort right in the building and you will fit right in and you’re going to love it here, and you’re going to feel welcome and you’re going to accomplish great things with us.”
Reddick, who lives in Camden, New Jersey, about 90 minutes from the Jets’ training facility, has skipped all team events since the trade, forfeiting about $4.7 million in game checks and accruing another $5 million in NFL-mandated fines.
The Jets acquired him with one year, $14.25 million in nonguaranteed base pay remaining on his contract. Reddick, who has 50.5 sacks over the previous four seasons, demanded a long-term deal commensurate with the top pass rushers. The Eagles decided to trade him instead of paying him.
The Jets offered an extension at the time of the trade, but it was quickly rejected. At that point, Reddick agreed to play under his existing contract, according to the team. Reddick evidently felt he was promised a long-term extension, so he didn’t report to any offseason events or training camp.
After losing pass rusher Bryce Huff to the Eagles in free agency, the Jets traded for Reddick, sending a conditional 2026 third-round pick to the Eagles. If Reddick doesn’t report by Week 13, he won’t get credit for the season and his contract will toll, meaning the Jets would retain his rights for 2025 instead of him becoming a free agent.