FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Robert Saleh wanted a quiet offseason. Instead, it opened on Tuesday with a whole lot of noise — and it didn’t even have to do with Aaron Rodgers.
The Jets head coach, like many in the organization, is surely feeling significant pressure to win in his fourth season on the job. Even if owner Woody Johnson hasn’t publicly given a “playoff mandate,” make no mistake about it: There is one. The Jets have the talent to make some noise (in a good way) this season, if their key players — namely, Rodgers — can stay healthy. A lot needs to go right. The Jets will need some luck, which has been in short supply over the last decade plus.
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That is why Saleh spent so much time this offseason talking about his hopes for a little less noise, fewer distractions, in the lead-up to the season.
“Some of the stuff in the offseason with Aaron, with ‘Hard Knocks,’ I feel like we lost track of some things,” star cornerback Sauce Gardner said at the end of last season, “When there’s a lot of cameras and a lot of stuff going on, you can lose track of the main thing. At the end of the day, we still got to win.”
There are no “Hard Knocks” camera following the Jets anymore. But there still are distractions.
There was all the overblown hullabaloo around Rodgers skipping minicamp for a trip to Egypt (even if it’s unclear why Rodgers couldn’t wait one more week to take that trip), but Tuesday the noise was all about someone else: Defensive end Haason Reddick, who didn’t report for training camp on Tuesday as he seeks a new contract. Reddick is subject to $50,000 in fines for every day he skips — and the Jets have no clue when he plans on showing up.
In June, Saleh was asked if he was worried about Reddick not showing up for training camp:
“I’m not,” he said.
And about the distraction of it: “If this is the worst thing that happens to us, I think we’re doing pretty good. So, I promise this is not something I’m worried about.”
The Jets acquired the star defensive end from the Philadelphia Eagles in March with the knowledge that Reddick, in the last year of his deal, wanted a new contract. That didn’t change when the Jets acquired him. The Jets did offer him a new deal before the trade — a slight raise on his $14.5 million salary, but still far below market value. Reddick currently ranks 19th among edge rushers in average salary; he’s maintained his status as one of the NFL’s premier pass rushers in the two years since the Eagles signed him to his current contract.
Reddick rejected the Jets’ initial offer and the team was led to believe that, even without a new deal, he would report for offseason workouts, minicamp and, eventually, training camp. Instead he skipped the offseason program, forfeited a $250,000 workout bonus and incurred fines for skipping mandatory minicamp. Then, he didn’t show up on Tuesday.
The Jets won’t agree to any sort of new deal with Reddick — whether that’s an extension or a restructure of some sort on his current contract — until he shows up to camp. But Reddick doesn’t want to show up to camp without a new deal. So a game of chicken begins. And alas, a distraction — exactly what Saleh was trying to avoid.
“When you deal with contracts and things like that, it doesn’t really get to the locker room because we don’t control that,” said linebacker C.J. Mosley, a team captain. “But when he does get here we’ll be able to have our two cents to say. But we know he’s a pro, he’s been at the highest level of competition. I’m sure whenever that gets worked out he’ll be here and ready to roll. When he gets here he’ll be another great player to add the defensive line.”
Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, who held out of OTAs last year seeking a new contract, echoed that sentiment: “I try to stay out of all that. I know he’s an amazing football player and an amazing person. I’m sure they’ll iron everything out.”
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Neither Saleh nor GM Joe Douglas were made available to address Reddick’s holdout on Tuesday, though Saleh will speak to the media for the first training camp practice on Wednesday. Reddick hasn’t made any public statements about his holdout; he’s declined interview requests from various publications too.
At least the Jets are no stranger to distraction. And the players that did report on Tuesday — as in, all 89 of them — are better equipped to handle it than they might have been a year ago.
“I think starting last year, we had the deal with ‘Hard Knocks,’ the Hall of Fame game, the extra 10 days in camp, all the expectations of Aaron’s first year here,” tight end Tyler Conklin said. “As a team … it’s not our first rodeo handling all those different things. The expectations. The media. The games. We’re just excited to be where our feet are.”
In Year 2 with Rodgers at quarterback — after a Year 1 that only lasted four plays before tearing his Achilles — the tone around these training camp media gatherings has changed too. Where many with the Jets, including Saleh, were declaring themselves Super Bowl contenders last year, this time around the declarations aren’t as bold.
“I just want to be part of a team that’s great and reaches its full potential,” wide receiver Garrett Wilson said. “I feel like the last two years have been what they’ve been and I’m excited for another opportunity to prove myself to the world. I want to take on a judgment for ‘what I do, not what I’ve done’ mindset.”
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If the Jets are going to reach their full potential they’ll need Reddick, especially after letting Bryce Huff walk in free agency and trading away John Franklin-Myers. Reddick is a crucial member of what should be an elite defensive line, of a roster that looks like one of the most talented in the NFL on paper.
The Jets haven’t made the playoffs since 2010. It’s hard enough to make the playoffs — let alone make it to the Super Bowl, which is what Rodgers came to the Jets to do. It would help if the off-field distractions might become … a little less distracting.
“We approach it with a mindset to get better every day,” Wilson said. “We’re not looking at it as: We haven’t been to the playoffs in the last however many (years) it is, let’s find a way to get to the best version of ourselves because we know what we can do. At the end of the day, we gotta go out and do it.”
That journey starts in practice on Wednesday — with or without Reddick.
(Top photo: Andy Lewis / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
