Jets start season without DE Haason Reddick

The New York Jets, who had built a winning roster in hopes of competing for a championship, will begin the season Monday night without their biggest offseason addition.

Pro Bowl edge rusher Haason Reddick, who is hoping for a new contract, still hasn't reported to the team, so coach Robert Saleh had no choice Saturday but to acknowledge what had become increasingly clear: For Reddick, who was placed on the reserve/non-reporting list at the start of training camp, it's too late to activate him for the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium.

While Saleh didn't say that outright, he implied it, saying it was “fair” to draw that conclusion. On Thursday, he said it was still “feasible” that Reddick would play if he showed up, but the team has now completed its game preparations.

There is no end in sight to the resistance. The resistance took an ugly turn when Reddick asked for a transfer on August 12. Despite this, Saleh continued to publicly offer his peace offer to Reddick and refused to reprimand him for his stance.

“I maintain that we will welcome him with open arms when he arrives here,” Saleh said on Saturday. “We will love him and he will be part of this football team and help us win many games. He has to sort out the financial matters and that is none of my business.”

The Jets signed Reddick on March 29, sending a conditional 2026 third-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles. Reddick, who is set to receive a non-guaranteed base salary of $14.25 million in the final year of his contract, gave an introductory press conference on April 1 and has not returned to the facility because he is upset he did not receive a long-term contract extension, a source said.

Reddick, who was fined $2.05 million for missing training camp, will now have to forfeit his game payouts – about $800,000 a week – and his entire salary will no longer be guaranteed. As a veteran player, his salary would have been guaranteed if he had been on the roster in Week 1.

In the locker room, players stressed that they would be fine without Reddick, who has recorded 50.5 sacks over the past four seasons.

“We all love him and we're all waiting for him when he's ready to come here, but we're completely confident that we're going to make some noise for sure,” defensive end Jermaine Johnson said Friday.

The Jets begin the season without three key players from last season's defensive line, including sack leader Bryce Huff, but Johnson said he is not concerned about a drop in performance.

“You can ask the teams we've trained against together and then you'll see on Monday,” he said. “I think we all feel pretty good.”

Johnson and Reddick were originally supposed to be the starting defensive ends, but now third backup Micheal Clemons will likely replace Reddick while Will McDonald will play pass attempts. The Jets normally use a nine-man rotation on the defensive line.

“As far as our defensive line goes, it's a defensive line that adjusts and rotates on every single play,” linebacker CJ Mosley said. “Some guys aren't there and some guys are gone, it doesn't really make a difference.”

The Jets, who finished third in yards allowed last season, still have a handful of stars on defense and expect to play at an elite level even without Reddick, who was brought in to replace Huff and John Franklin-Myers (traded).

“We're going to play really hard, and we're going to play really well,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “I really believe that.”