Nick Wright goes off on Jets amid Haason Reddick trade request drama - "There is an unearned organizational arrogance"
In March, earlier this year, the New York Jets traded for Haason Reddick from the Philadelphia Eagles. The defensive end did not attend the OTAs, the mandatory minicamp and has been holding out of the training camp, over contractual issues. After failing to come to an agreement with the team, Reddick requested a trade from the Jets today.
Fox Sports analyst Nick Wright sounded off on the team for letting this drama reach this point. Speaking on FS1's 'First Things First' on Monday, he criticized the Jets' "arrogance" for believing a star player like Reddick would be happy with his contract playing for a not-so-successful franchise.
"There is an unearned organizational arrogance if you think that someone who's unhappy with the Philadelphia Eagles, who last year won 11 games and made the playoffs and it's the worst year they've had in three years.
The year before, he was one of the biggest reasons they made the Super Bowl, when they had the most sacks of any team in more than 35 years in the NFL. That someone who is unhappy with them [Eagles] on his contract is going to be happy with the Jets on his contract.
Wright believes that the opposite could be true - a player playing on a lower deal with a premiere franchise, to eventually get a raise. He continued, raising questions on the Jets' decision making, comparing them with badly run teams.
"I am not saying the people who are running the Jets don't know what they're doing. What I am saying is they make a lot of this decisions that people who don't know what they're doing would make. It's a lot of things that a poorly run team would do. It's what the Jets do, and it doesn't make sense."
Haason Reddick and Jets' fallout a result of trust and communication issues
The New York Jets made move to accquire Haason Reddick from the Philadelphia Eagles aiming to add more strength to their pass-rushing talent. Howeve according to NFL insider Dianna Russini, trust and communication issues between the two affected their relationship and led to Reddick requesting trade on Monday.
Russini reported that the Jets knew Reddick wanted a new contract while trading for the 2x Pro Bowler. The team made a "below market" offer before the trade and the DE turned it down.
Following the trade, the Jets never made a new offer on a long-term team. The team said Reddick's representation informed them that the DE would play under his current contract. Reddick camp trusted the Jets to get a deal done by camp.
The Jets called Reddick a few weeks back, suggested reworking his current contract if he shows up to camp. Since it wasn't what Reddick's side agreed before the trade, he's continued to remain absent.
General Manager Joe Douglas, in a statement released by the Jets, said that the team will not honor Reddick's trade request. The defensive end will continue to be fined if he doesn't report to the camp. Reddick has racked up over $1 million in fines so far, from holding out.