Rams patience at finding pass rushers saved team a lot of headaches

When the LA Rams sought pass rush help after news of DT Aaron Donald's retirement became public, one solution to fill that void presented itself in the form of Philadelphia Eagles veteran Haason Reddick. Seeking a new contract, the Eagles allowed Reddick to seek a new NFL team to trade for him. At the time, I lobbied for the Rams to be that trade partner. The team thought otherwise.

In my defense, one of the options in that same article was to draft elite rookie prospect pass rushers. The team did take that approach, and the pair of two Florida State Seminoles rookies OLB Jared Verse and DT Braden Fiske has gone so well that they are not competing in preseason games.

But the team that did take up the task of trading for Reddick is the New York Jets, a team that is eager to make instant headway in 2024 with the return of veteran QB Aaron Rodgers. With his throwing arm on offense, the team merely needed one elite pass rusher on defense to get the Jets over the hump. Well, the thing about trading for a player because you think he is elite, he realizes that he should be paid like an elite player: Whether he is or not elite.

That creates drama, the antithesis of cohesion and team chemistry. It was the type of drama that the Rams want no part of right now. But the story does not end there.

It gets worse. Far worse.

It has been less than five months since Reddick was traded to the Jets. Haason Reddick has not practiced with the Jets, nor has he taken a single snap. The Jets surrendered compensation to take on this nightmare.

Is there any contract relief?

Exactly how much protection did Jets add to their conditions?

As per the terms of the trade between the New York Jets and the Philadelphia Eagles, the Jets will send a conditional Round 3 2026 NFL Draft to the Eagles unless certain conditions are met. Those conditions are that Reddick must play 67.5 percent of the defensive snaps as well as record at least 10.0+ quarterback sacks. If those conditions are met, then the pick is upgraded from a Round 3 to a Round 2 2026 NFL Draft pick.

As it stands right now, Reddick won't be playing a single snap for the New York Jets:

While 2026 seems like a far-distant future to a team competing for a Lombardi Trophy in 2024, it's really not too far into the future. If you recall, there was no shortage of critics that lined up to shame the Rams for adding a 2025 Round 2 pick to the package used to trade up to the 39th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to add DT Braden Fiske.

The difference is that the Rams emerged with an exciting rookie who will be a bargain-priced competitor for the team for the next four seasons. Reddick is under a one-year deal that he has no intention of playing under, and he becomes a free agent in 2025.

I may be pointed in the wrong direction, but I'm willing to bet that the Jets front office would love to have that situation right now. Instead, they have a disgruntled veteran who wants to to be paid top dollar, and refuses to show up until that contract is signed by all parties.

He, like any NFL player, has every right to make that choice. But NFL teams will see that tactic as diminishing his value, not enhancing it. This situation has devolved from contract negotiations to a standoff and impasse. There will be no winners here. And thankfully, the Rams wisely avoided that patch of quicksand in their journey to retool the defense.

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