Former Buccaneers Pass Rusher Linked With Vikings Landing Spot In Free Agency

We are about a month away from the start of training camp before the onset of the 2026 NFL season, and while teams may have most of their roster complete at this stage, there are still guys out there on the free agent market looking for a home.

One of those players still looking for his next team is Haason Reddick, who spent only one season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Reddick has always bet on himself, whether for better or worse, but he is still on the market — however, it may not be for much longer.

In a recent piece for ESPN, Aaron Schatz outlined the final offseason move that each team must make, and for the Minnesota Vikings, it was signing Reddick to help bolster their pass rush.

Vikings Should Sign Haason Reddick, Per ESPN

"Reddick had only 2.5 sacks last season, the lowest of the three best available veteran pass rushers, but his 12% pass rush win rate was still impressive: similar to the Chargers' Tuli Tuipulotu and just ahead of the Steelers' T.J. Watt," wrote Schatz. "Reddick's history of playing in flexible 3-4 defenses makes him the best fit for defensive coordinator Brian Flores because he has more experience dropping into coverage on complicated zone blitzes."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Haason Reddic — Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Haason Reddick (5) Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Reddick's career has kind of derailed since his contract issues with the New York Jets, but the Bucs thought highly enough of him to give him a one-year deal last offseason with the hopes he would return to his dominant ways of the past. He did not.

Reddick Has Chance to Bounce Back... Again

Reddick's stats didn't jump off the page by any means from his lone season in Tampa Bay, but as pointed out by Schatz, he did win a ton coming off the edge and also was able to create plenty of pressures despite not being able to finish for sacks.

Landing with a proven defensive mind like Flores in Minnesota would be an ideal situation for the veteran pass rusher. While it's highly unlikely that he will start no matter where he goes, he will be able to rotate in, providing fresh legs to get after the quarterback while dropping into coverage in multiple defensive sets.

Reddick will never likely return to the form we saw with the Philadelphia Eagles or Arizona Cardinals, but if a team like the Vikings can squeeze whatever they can out of him, then there is no reason to believe that he can't become a very serviceable rotational edge piece on a contending team.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google