Why did the Eagles trade Haason Reddick and how did they do? 5 thoughts on trading star pass rusher for 2026 pick

The Eagles finally traded Hasson Reddick, a sobering conclusion to more than a month of speculation. Reddick will go to the New York Jets, according to a league source, for a conditional 2026 third-round pick that can become a second-round pick. Reddick must play 67.5 percent of the defensive snaps next year and reach at least 10 sacks for the third-rounder to become a second-rounder, per ESPN. 

So what to make of the deal? Here are five thoughts:

1. This was the expected outcome, especially when the Eagles signed Bryce Huff and restructured Josh Sweat’s contract. At that point, it seemed unrealistic for Reddick to return given his desire for a new contract and the Eagles’ decision to pay Huff $17 million per year. The question became where Reddick would go and what the Eagles would command in return. When the Eagles pushed back the date for Reddick’s roster bonus, it was another indication of this eventuality. The Eagles didn’t pay Huff to be the third rusher. Sweat didn’t renegotiate his contract to take a reduced role. And Reddick has earned a lucrative contract that the Eagles seemed unwilling to spend on a player who turns 30 in September. Of course…. 

2. …This doesn’t make the Eagles better. That’s important and reasonable to establish because if you look at the transaction from a black-and-white perspective, they did not improve their 2024 roster. There’s no spin for dealing an edge rusher with double-digit sacks in four consecutive seasons and 27 sacks in his two years with the Eagles. Consider this: The Eagles went seven seasons without an edge rusher reaching double-digit sacks from 2015 to 2021. Reddick did it both years in Philadelphia. That’s a premium skill, and he’s elite at the skill. It can become easy to try to rationalize a move by finding a player’s warts on the way out, but Reddick was outstanding, productive, and durable. No other way to frame it, at least from this seat. He might have been the best player on the field in the NFC Championship Game in January 2023. (He’s also a Camden native who went to Temple who cherished returning home.)

However, this is also the business of the NFL and every transaction must be considered within the context of the big-picture cap/cash outlook and human dynamics of the NFL. The Chiefs didn’t get better trading L’Jarius Sneed, but they made other moves and preparations with the understanding that not everybody can be kept. The suggestion that Reddick signed a three-year contract and should play out his contract ignores the human dynamics involved here. And the Eagles signaled what they planned to do when they signed Huff. In essence, the Eagles dealt Reddick for Huff, a 2026 draft pick, and the delta between Reddick’s next deal and Huff’s deal.

The one alternative would have been re-signing Reddick. I could make a strong case for that based on the player he is — Reddick deserves a deal in line with Danielle Hunter (two years, $49 million). That’s not the path the Eagles chose.

The Eagles won’t save cap space with this move because of Reddick’s dead-money hit ($21.515 million, based on multiple reports that the Eagles are paying the April 1 roster bonus.) They save $14.5 million in cash on his 2024 salary, which can now be allocated elsewhere.

3. So about the compensation. At the start of this, I thought a second-round pick should be the target for Reddick. Pushing the pick two years down the line is not ideal, although Howie Roseman has often sought future picks finding an inefficiency with the way they’re valued. And just look this year — the Eagles have an extra second-round pick based on a 2022 trade. The patience will be rewarded. But you do that to extract a premium price, and this is not necessarily a premium price. (Who knows what the the 2025 Jets will look like, but I’m sure the Eagles considered models when determining the compensation.) 

It also might be ambitious to expect this to be a second-round pick. Even though Reddick has played more than 70 percent in four of the past five seasons (and reached 10 sacks in the past four), the Jets rotate their pass rushers. Jermaine Johnson, the Jets’ top edge rusher, played 65.8 percent of the defensive snaps. Quinnen Williams, the All-Pro defensive tackle, played 68.5 percent of the snaps. This is not an easy playing time threshold. The odds are that this is a third-round pick. 

But this was also not like Jimmy Garoppolo being traded to San Francisco in a huff. Reddick has been on the market since February. Roseman has been at the combine. He’s been at the league meetings. If there was a better deal at this time of year (that was also amenable to Reddick and his contract situation), one would think Roseman would have found it. 

The other option would have been holding onto Reddick. The closer to the draft, the harder it is to get picks. After the draft, the situation might have been different. Maybe a team that expected an edge rusher to fall missed him. Maybe a team traded back and had more of a surplus of picks. So the other option could have been waiting. But it’s reasonable to give Roseman the benefit of the doubt that this was the best he was going to find at this point — especially when considering high-profile (and younger) players such as Brian Burns and Sneed didn’t get as much on the trade market as initially expected. 

4. The depth chart, at least before the draft, seems easy to determine. Huff and Sweat are the top edge rushers. Nolan Smith is No. 3. Brandon Graham is veteran depth. The Eagles like Zack Baun, who will be a versatile linebacker used to rush the quarterback. They can still add help in the draft.

The key to this trade is Huff taking another step in his game after the Eagles paid him to be a top-20 edge rusher. Huff had 10 sacks and 21 quarterback hits while playing 42 percent of the defensive snaps with the Jets. He’ll play more (and in a different scheme) in Philadelphia, and they need a spike in development/production similar to Reddick when the Eagles signed him in 2022. 

“Elite, elite pass rusher. Closes game. People want to say all he does is rush the passer, but all Mariano Rivera did was close ninth innings. He’s a pretty darn good pass rusher and he’s going to be great for Philadelphia,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said of Huff. “He earned more playing time. He came in as an undrafted free agent. The first year, we weren’t here. The following year, remade his entire body, earned a little bit of playing time, had some injury. Following year, got a little more playing time, and then last year he really came on. And his playing time increased every year. And he’s really taken it upon himself to find ways to improve in the run game. And he’s done that. And I think he’s done that. Expecting him to get a lot more playing time in Philadelphia. …He’ll be great.”

The other part of this is Smith’s development. The Eagles spent the No. 30 overall pick on Smith, who has rare traits but was not a prolific sack producer at Georgia. He played only 16 percent of the defensive snaps as a rookie and had a more modest role than I anticipated. Smith has the tools and athleticism, and he’s only 23. The Eagles need a big step from him. 

“In retrospect just seeing him certainly in the playoff game, one of the guys who played well in the playoff game, maybe giving him a little bit more time during the year and experience, we talked about that,” Roseman said. “He’s got all the right tools in his body. He’s got the right mentality. And at the same time, he’s got to go out and show it.”

Also, Sweat’s cold streak to close the season might have obscured the productive stretch he had been for a year and a half. He had 18 sacks in 25 games (including the playoffs), and the Eagles should have every expectation that Sweat can reach double-digit sacks.

5. I don’t think this necessarily changes the Eagles’ draft strategy, although it’s true Huff and Smith are the only edge rushers under contract in 2025. But I already expected the Eagles to look closely at the position, even composing a mock draft in February with an edge rusher in the first round. However, this is not an especially strong class of edge rushers compared to other seasons. Perhaps Jared Verse falls to No. 22 or the Eagles love Chop Robinson’s traits there, but those factors would have been in place before a Reddick trade. It was unlikely Reddick would be on the roster this season, and the only factor that would have changed the 2025/2026 need at the position is if the Eagles found common ground with Reddick and signed him to a contract extension. I’d expect the Eagles to draft an edge rusher, but it could come on Day 2 or even Day 3. This doesn’t make it a Day 1 priority. The value must be present. It’s also worth noting that next year’s edge rusher class could have more top options than this year based on the returning players. 

Tune into Monday’s PHLY Eagles show for more insight and analysis.