Haason Reddick’s Jets career isn’t off to a good start.
After skipping optional OTA workouts, the Pro Bowl defensive end was one of two unexcused absences from this week’s mandatory minicamp on Tuesday.
Reddick, acquired from the Eagles in late March, is believed to want a new contract.
Jets coach Robert Saleh said he spoke to Reddick over the weekend for the first time since the trade.
He wasn’t worried about Reddick’s holdout continuing into training camp, though the two didn’t discuss that, or his contractual status.
“I appreciated the dialogue. He’s in a really good place mentally, working his tail off like we already know, but he’s choosing to sit out, so it’s unexcused,” Saleh said.
He later added: “I’m not concerned about Haason Reddick. I understand everything that’s happening, but at the same time I know that when it comes time to play football, he’s gonna be ready to play football.”
Reddick, a 29-year-old, two-time Pro Bowler who has averaged a shade over 12.5 sacks over the past four years, is owed $21.8 million in 2024 as part of a three-year, $45 million deal he signed before the 2022 season.
Saleh said questions about a new contract for Reddick should be directed to general manager Joe Douglas.
The Jets had conversations with Reddick’s agents prior to the trade about his contract and were under the impression he would start the season under the current deal.
Breece Hall is excited for the Jets’ Week 1 opponent for a variety of reasons.
For one, his cousin is Roger Craig, a former 49ers star.
Hall has looked up to running back Christian McCaffrey, and San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy was his college roommate at Iowa State.
“I used to watch his highlights all the time,” Hall said of McCaffrey. “If you go on my YouTube history, it’ll show I watched the first 10 videos of his highlights and everything.”
As for facing Purdy, Hall joked: “Me and him are overly competitive with each other. Even in college, when we played “Madden,” whoever won, we wouldn’t talk to each other the rest of the day. That’s how it’ll be until after the game.”
Saleh said he expects projected starting offensive linemen Morgan Moses and Alijah Vera-Tucker to be ready for the start of training camp, and new receiver Mike Williams to be on the same schedule as Hall from last summer, when he was activated off the PUP list in August.
Williams is coming off a torn ACL he suffered last September.
The Jets brought in five players for tryouts: receiver Jakeem Grant, defensive linemen Jeremy Lewis and Takkarist McKinley and offensive linemen Corey Luciano, Patrick Elflein and Ilm Manning.
