As if the world could have gone on a little longer without any Eagles news. Right before Super Bowl LVIII, it was reported that the Eagles had granted Haason Reddick permission to seek a trade. While this sounds terrible, it’s just a part of the business that benefits both the player and the team. But the Eagles can only benefit if they find a way to keep Reddick here and to keep him happy.
However, the Eagles find themselves in a bind due to other key players being due for an extension at more necessary roles. DeVonta Smith is eligible for a big contract extension as well as Landon Dickerson. Both players play more significant roles on this team than Reddick who has his replacement already on the roster. But that shouldn’t diminish the impact that Reddick has when he’s on the field. The fierce edge rusher has been the Eagles best defensive player over the last two seasons.
Eagles have a big question to answer…
But what can the Eagles get for a 29-year-old pass rusher who is probably one of the more consistent disruptors in the league? Would it honestly satisfy them to move on from him in his prime? The answers to both of the questions are the same. Philadelphia is better off finding a way to keep Hanson Reddick for another shot at a Super Bowl run.
The Eagles were in a similar situation last offseason with Darius Slay. Slay was permitted to find a trade right before he was released. It marinated into nothing but reports say that Slay was inches away from ending up in Baltimore which would’ve left the Eagles’ defense worse than it already was.
While good Cornerbacks are much harder to come by, Reddick’s impact should not be overlooked. In his two years with the Eagles, he has tallied 5 forced fumbles, 27 sacks, 49 QB hits, and 76 pressures. Those numbers are not easily replaced. It doesn’t matter who you have waiting in the wings, the bar has been set too high.
If the Eagles were to keep Reddick and give him a significant pay raise, what would those numbers look like? As it stands, his cap hit is nearly $22 million for the 2024 season. It doesn’t make sense to release him because either way you look at it, the dead cap will be significantly high.
Currently, the top-paid edge rushers annual average value are as follows:
Nick Bosa $34 million
T.J. Watt $28 million
Joey Bosa $27 million
Myles Garrett $25 million
Montez Sweat $24 million
If Reddick wants to be paid for being one of the top pass rushers in the league then that is completely understandable but the issue at hand is the age factor. In football years, players start to decline after the age of 30 years old. All of those players signed their big contracts between the ages of 25 years old to 27 years old. Reddick will be 30 years old in September of this year.
Which is why it would make all the sense in the world for both Haason Reddick and the Eagles to come to an agreement that’s possibly closer in bonus money but keeps the cap hit low enough. A deal of the sort would probably be for 2-3 years but again, with Smith and Dickerson up next, things could get very tricky for Roseman and his team.
AP Photo/Chris Szagola
