Eagles Buy Time with Haason Reddick; Trade Incoming?
PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Eagles are buying time when it comes to Haason Reddick, and what that purchase will lead to is still anybody’s guess.
The team pushed back a roster bonus of $1 million due to Reddick on March 15 until April 1, per a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
There are two ways to view it.
First, the extra time allows the Eagles and Reddick to continue shopping for a trade.
Two, the extra time gives the Eagles and Reddick time to work out a new deal that will keep him in Philadelphia.
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Maybe it’s both.
On the surface, it would seem that a trade makes more sense.
The Eagles handed Bryce Huff a $51M contract at the start of free agency. A few days later, they gave Josh Sweat $10 to return this year in a deal that could climb to $13M.
Reddick’s contract would pay him more than $10M and that would give the Eagles three edge rushers who are being paid at least $10M this season.
The Eagles value the defensive line, but three $10M-plus players feel like a lot even for them.
Bringing Reddick back would also make for a somewhat crowded edge.
In addition to him, Sweat, Huff, and Nolan Smith, a player the Eagles said they want to use more this year, the team also gave Brandon Graham a one-year deal worth $4M, and brought in Zack Baun during free agency. Baun is a linebacker but has shown some skill at rushing the passer last year in New Orleans.
Meanwhile, trading Reddick would save the Eagles $16M with a dead-money hit of $5.8M, as long as they do it with a post-June 1 designation.
The Eagles could also try to recoup the third-round pick (a compensatory pick at No. 98) that they traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for quarterback Kenny Pickett. They moved down just 22 spots because they acquired the Steelers’ pick at No. 120 overall, but the perception looks worse than it probably is because the Eagles no longer have four picks in the top 100, though they still have three.
Getting back into the top 100 could be something they want to do.
A third-round pick in exchange for Reddick, along with perhaps some later-round picks this year or next doesn’t sound like enough for a player with four straight double-digit sack seasons still in his prime and who doesn’t turn 30 until September.
He was arguably the Eagles’ best defensive player last year and just two years removed from a 19.5-sack season, including playoffs. Reddick is also a local product, growing up in Camden, N.J., and attending Temple University.
It wouldn’t be easy to watch the Eagles get rid of him, but it may make the most sense - as of now.
