Woody Johnson had an important message for Haason Reddick on the day the owner of the New York Jets made the surprising choice to fire his head coach.
Johnson stressed that it was time for the pass rusher to end his holdout.
“Haason, get in your car, drive down (Interstate) 95 and come to the New York Jets,” Johnson said at the end of a conference call on Tuesday about the firing of Robert Saleh. “We can meet you and give you an escort right into the building and you’ll fit right in. And you’re going to love it here and you’re going to feel welcome and you’re going to accomplish great things with us.”
Johnson fired Saleh just five games into the Jets’ 2-3 start. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will take over as the interim coach for the rest of the season.
Reddick, who is from Camden, New Jersey, was brought in from Philadelphia during the offseason to improve New York’s pass rush. However, since officially joining the team on April 1, Reddick has not participated due to a contract dispute.
The 30-year-old edge rusher asked to be traded on August 12, but general manager Joe Douglas quickly denied that request, stating that the team would not accommodate him. Reddick has yet to play this season, and it is unclear when, or if, his contract issue will be resolved.
“This is something I’ve never seen before,” Johnson said, who has been the Jets’ owner since 2000. “I don’t think any of us have seen anything like this. So I think you have to be part psychologist and part some other ‘gist’ to try to figure out what is actually going on.”
Reddick is in the final year of a three-year, $45 million contract, which includes a non-guaranteed base pay of $14.25 million this season. He is losing about $800,000 for each game he does not play, in addition to fines for his holdout that have surpassed $5 million, including over $2 million for missing all of training camp.
