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Over two weeks into camp, and still no Haason Reddick.
And Jordan Schultz announced today that Reddick wants to be traded.
Reddick is still holding out for a new contract. He has one year left on his current deal, and is scheduled to make $14.25 million.
One thing that hurts Reddick’s leverage is that he has no history on the Jets, and most players in the locker room don’t know him. It’s not one of those contract disputes, like the CeeDee Lamb situation in Dallas, where the players are probably distracted by it, because he’s one of the top two or three players on the team, and has been a big-time producer for the Cowboys in the past.
Honestly, the players in the Jets locker room don’t get a rat’s behind about the Reddick situation, so this is not one of these contract disputes where you worry about how it’s playing in the locker room.
That dynamic is not at work here.
This is not a distraction.
How can a locker room be distracted by the absence of a player you never played with and hardly any of the players know?
So whether they pay him or trade him, you don’t get the sense that the locker room really cares . . .
On the last practice play today, Joe Tippmann had a high snap to Aaron Rodgers. The QB caught it, but it threw off his rhythm.
Maybe it would have been better to end practice on a more positive note. Maybe run the play again . . .
Tyron Smith was on the rehab field again today during the team part of practice, and this was after not playing in the game.
Having him on a pitch count makes sense since he’s 33 and has not played a complete season since 2016.
But he was held out late last week with some kind of stiffness, and when you hear a guy with a history of back issues has stiffness, it makes you wonder a little what is going on.
But it’s probably best to error on the side of caution with this player . . .
Saw it in the Jets’ first preseason game, and saw it again today in practice, Jets reserve linebacker Chazz Surratt is a true sleeper at the position, and is probably a starting-level linebacker at this point.
He tied for the team lead in tackles with defensive tackle Tanzel Smart against Washington with seven.
His instincts are impressive, consistently arriving to the ball very quickly.
If anything happens to a Jets starting linebacker, this guy will provide excellent insurance.
And the importance of linebacker insurance is huge, considering today we saw Quincy Williams and C.J. Mosley run into each other in coverage, and Williams was slow to get up. He’s fine, but it reminds you how much you need to have quality depth.
Surratt will provide quality linebacker depth for the Jets . . .
There were a couple of plays close together where Aaron Rodgers hit wide-open receivers for touchdowns in a red zone drill, first Garrett Wilson and then Xavier Gipson.
In situations like this, you see how valuable Michael Carter is, as one of the best slot corners in the NFL.
Carter is still out with a right ankle sprain suffered early in camp.
He is obviously not going to play in Charlotte on Saturday against the Carolina Panthers, but do you play him in the preseason finale against the Giants?
I wouldn’t. This seems like a high ankle sprain, and you might as well get it to 100 percent for the opener. These are usually 4-8 week injuries, and if you come back too soon, you can exacerbate it, and you are back to square one . . .
The Jets really like undrafted free agent defensive end Eric Watts out of UConn. And he has flashed a little in camp.
But at close to 6-6, like a lot of young defensive linemen, he needs to work on lowering his pad level, and you saw that on the TD run by Washington Commander running back Michael Wiley off right tackle in the second half.
August 12, 2024
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