Eagles trading unhappy edge rusher Haason Reddick to Jets. What they received in return

The Eagles are trading edge rusher Haason Reddick, who had 27 sacks in two seasons in Philadelphia, to the Jets.

ESPN was the first to report the deal Friday, adding that the Eagles are getting a conditional third-round pick in 2026 that can become a second-round pick. That is based on Reddick's playing time and production this season. If Reddick plays at least 67.5% of the snaps and gets 10 or more sacks, the pick will become a second rounder.

Reddick met both thresholds in each of his two seasons in Philly. He played 74% of the snaps in both 2022 and 2023, with 16 sacks in 2022 and 11 more last season.

The Eagles technically traded Reddick for Jets edge rusher Bryce Huff, whom the Eagles signed in free agency earlier this month. Huff, who turns 26 on April 17, is nearly four years younger than Reddick and is coming off a season in which he had 10 sacks.

But for Reddick, who grew up in Camden, New Jersey and attended Temple, it's a bittersweet ending to his Eagles career. He called it a dream to play for his hometown team when the Eagles signed him as a free agent in March, 2022 for three seasons and $45 million.

He reiterated that desire to stay after the season ended with a 32-9 loss in the wild-card round. For Reddick, it was a trying season. He didn't have a sack in the last five games. Reddick was also dropping into coverage more often after Matt Patricia replaced Sean Desai as de facto defensive coordinator on Dec. 16.

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"It’s been a lot, but, man, for me, every time I get to wear that midnight green, every time I get to play in an Eagles uniform is always going to be special for me," Reddick said when the season ended. "Whether we’re winning or we’re losing, a kid from the area, a kid who watched the Eagles, this will always be special to me."

But Reddick, who outperformed his contract, was hoping for a lucrative extension heading into the third and final season of the deal. After all, he's fourth in the NFL in sacks in the last two seasons, but was 17th in average annual salary among edge rushers. A few, such as Nick Bosa and defensive lineman, Chris Jones, are getting paid twice as much as Reddick in average annual salary.

Reddick had already made it clear last August that he felt he was underpaid.

"Y’all see it. Y’all know what’s going on," Reddick said then. "I’m just worried about being the best version of myself. And then everything else will sort itself out."

The Eagles, however, let it be known in February that they'd rather trade Reddick than pay him a salary comparable to the top edge rushers, who make in the $25 million per year range. When that happened, Reddick said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he never asked to be traded.

"Never asked for a trade. However, I do understand it’s a business. Preparing for whatever is next!" Reddick posted.

But the Eagles had seemingly moved on. They signed Huff to a three-year deal worth as much as $51.1 million when free agency began March 13. In addition, they gave Josh Sweat an extension and re-signed veteran Brandon Graham.

They also have Nolan Smith, a first-round pick last year, whom they want to play more this season.

Reddick is more proven than Huff. Reddick, the Arizona Cardinals' first-round pick in 2017, has had at least 11 sacks in each of the last four seasons. He's fourth in the NFL in sacks since 2020 with 50.5, trailing only Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt, Cleveland's Myles Garrett and Cincinnati's Trey Hendrickson.

The Jets, meanwhile, signed Huff as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Last season was his first with more than 3.5 sacks. Still, Huff nearly matched Reddick's production last season despite playing only 42% of the snaps.

By signing Huff, the Eagles believe that he is ascending. That might not be the case for Reddick, who turns 30 in September. The Jets are reportedly working on an extension with Reddick.

"I know how good of a pass rusher that he is," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni told reporters about Huff earlier this week at the NFL owners' meetings. "Obviously, that’s what got him paid the amount of money that he got paid. We’re really excited to add him to our roster, knowing how much he can provide help for us to get after the passer.

"We’ll see how the reps play themselves out, but there’s a lot of things to go through before we get to that."

One of those things was trading Reddick to free up some playing time not only for Huff, but for Smith as well. That happened Friday.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Eagles trading Haason Reddick to Jets. What they're getting in return