There is something to be said for inactivity — in the terms of just refusing to play — being almost as bad for you, in some cases, as if you were actually injured.
In recent memory, players who have gone through extended holdouts where they missed offseason workouts, training camp, preseason games and, in a few rare cases, regular season games, just seem like they may have permanently lost a step when they return to action.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are trying to figure out if they’ve got one of those types of players on their defense right now with edge rusher Haason Reddick, who has yet to show the level of play that made him one of the game’s most feared pass rushers for the last 5 seasons.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon singled out Reddick’s lack of productivity as the Buccaneers’ “Biggest Problem” headed into a Week 6 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Through 5 games, Reddick has just one sack to go with 13 tackles, 4 TFL and 4 QB hits. Despite that lack of production from the NFL All-Pro and 2-time Pro Bowler, the Buccaneers are 4-1.
“The Buccaneers beat the Seahawks in Week 5 despite the fact the defense failed to get much pressure on Sam Darnold while allowing 35 points,” Gagnon wrote on October 10. “That unit has just 10 sacks on the season, and a big part of that is the lack of production from its $14 million offseason addition. It’s fair to wonder if Reddick is rusty following what was essentially a lost season with the Jets in 2024. But he’s also 31 so who knows if he can find what he once had. Regardless, the pass rush is in trouble without him at his best.”
Buccaneers Made Splashy Move Signing Reddick
The Buccaneers signed Reddick to a 1-year, $14 million free agent contract on March 10 — the very first day teams could sign free agents in the 2025 cycle.
They also showed a lot of faith in a player who didn’t do much the previous year.
After Reddick was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the New York Jets before the 2024 season, he entered into a prolonged holdout over his lack of a contract extension and made the decision to sit out the most games he could without losing a year toward his veteran’s status — 7 games — and returned to have just one sack in 10 games.
Edge Rusher Noticeable Weak Spot for Buccaneers
The message from the Buccaneers with the signing was they were intent on improving the weakest spot on their defense.
“Tampa Bay also took what I thought was a worthwhile gamble on Reddick at one year, $14 million,” ESPN’s Seth Walder wrote on July 10. “Reddick is coming off a lost season that featured a long contract standoff, 10 games played and only one sack. But Reddick has been an elite pass rusher (he posted double-digit sacks every year from 2020 to 2023) and could help Todd Bowles’ defense if he bounces back.”
Unless you’ve got Aaron Donald on your roster, it’s probably never a good sign when your best edge rusher isn’t leading the team in sacks — nose tackle Vita Vea leads Tampa Bay with 2.0 sacks followed by inside linebacker Lavonte David with 1.5 sacks.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Struggling $14 Million Edge Rusher Called ‘Biggest Problem’ for Buccaneers appeared first on Heavy Sports.