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Woody Johnson, one of the most active NFL owners on Twitter, tweeted on Wednesday: “Who do you want to see at training camp this year?”
And this was followed with four pictures of Johnson, some players, and others posing for pictures with celebrities from past camps. One of the celebrities was actor Ralph Macchio. I didn’t recognize the others. I am not minimizing their level of celebrity. I just didn’t recognize them.
As for Woody’s poll, the #1 answer was Haason Reddick.
Now, that probably wasn’t what Woody and his people were looking for out of the poll, but it was a glimpse of what is on the minds of some fans.
Woody was probably looking for “what celebrity” would you like to see, not which “holdout” would you like to see?
This Reddick situation is bizarro.
Never covered a story like this.
A team trading for a player and inheriting a contract dispute.
Now, in defense of the Jets, clearly they didn’t think they were inheriting a contract dispute.
But there was perhaps a bait-and-switch at work here, where the Jets thought Reddick would honor his current deal, but then something changed.
Reddick went on vacation to Japan after not attending the Jets’ mandatory minicamp.
And at this point, you have to wonder if he still has a yen to play for the Jets.
At least a yen to play for the Jets for $14.25 million this year, the deal the Jets inherited from Philadelphia.
Some think Reddick’s camp is using John Franklin-Myers trade to Denver as leverage against the Jets.
In other words, the Jets are more desperate for Reddick after trading Franklin-Myers, a former starting defensive end.
But that angle is a little overblown.
First of all, the Jets were trying to get Franklin-Myers to take a significant pay cut, so while they like him as a player, perhaps they weren’t totally thrilled with some of the tape from last year.
Secondly, if they wanted Franklin-Myers to take a pay cut, why would they give his replacement a raise?
Reddick has certainly put the Jets in a bad spot.
They clearly thought they were acquiring a player who would honor his contract, but now he isn’t.
And you get the sense that his Reddick’s camp knows his position isn’t that noble since we aren’t hearing any NFL media insiders trumpeting his cause.
And keep in mind, Reddick is represented by CAA, one of the biggest representation firms, in sports and entertainment, who actually represent some media insiders. CAA has a reputation for being very helpful in providing scoops about contracts to their insiders.
None of the prominent insiders have provided any “scoops” or great inside information on what is going on with Reddick. Crickets.
So it’s almost like some of the insiders are saying, “I’m not touching that one.”
If Reddick and his agent told the Jets he would be okay playing on his current contract this year, and then pulled an old switcheroo after he arrived, that is kind hard to defend, don’t you think?
The best-case scenario for the Jets is Reddick, even if he’s pissed about his current deal, still has a great season, just because he needs to, since he will be a 30-year-old free agent next off-season, and he will need strong film to cash in next year.
So even if he’s mad at the Jets about his contract, what purpose would it serve him to pout and let it impact his performance because that will end up costing him money in 2025?
July 3, 2025
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