Will the Eagles really part ways with Haason Reddick?
One of the most head-scratching stories to come out of Super Bowl week was the news that the Eagles had given their star edge rusher permission to seek a trade with other teams from around the National Football League.
The report originally came from the NFL Network during the run-up to the Super Bowl and had all the logical earmarks of being a hundred-percent true.
Before deciding whether those reports are to be trusted, you have to understand how those reports come to be made.
Teams, general managers, coaches, players and agents use national reporters from places like NFL Network, ESPN and their other broadcast partners to get out information that wouldn’t or shouldn’t be revealed by either the team or the players themselves through ordinary channels.
Your local reporters, the people who cover the Eagles on a day-to-day basis, don’t typically break those kind of reports. The reason is simple. Because there are so many of those reporters, the team or player’s representative don’t want to create resentment or show favoritism to a single reporter to get a story out.
The story would have to be leaked to too many people. That’s why national reporters get the scoop.
In nearly every case, the information is true because no reporter will put their reputation on the line by reporting something that won’t check out.
Once the word gets out, the whole Eagles’ media machine swings into action.
So does the story check out? Well, yes. And no.
Reddick himself told Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report that he “cherished being an Eagle” just days after the original report came out. Reddick went to high school at Haddon Heights in South Jersey and played at Temple University. He is, quite literally, home.
It’s not that simple, though.
Reddick is entering the final year of his three-year, $45 million contract. He’s due $14.25 million of that next year. He has more than outperformed that contract over his first two years, getting more than 30 sacks combined in the regular season and playoffs.
Players at that level typically command upward of $24 million per year.
Reddick would love to make that kind of money. Heck, who wouldn’t?
Reddick probably deserves that kind of money. Are the Eagles the team that will give Reddick that kind of salary?
Reddick will turn 30 in September and he had five fewer sacks last year than he did in his first year with the team. The Eagles already have him under contract.
That’s why the report came out when it did.
Reddick wants to stay. The Eagles want to make sure they don’t pay too much to keep him here. Both the Eagles and Reddick’s representatives would benefit from knowing how much he is valued by other teams around the NFL.
After talking to other teams, Reddick’s people will know how much they should ask for. After hearing from other teams, the Eagles will know how much they should pay.
If those numbers are somewhere close, Reddick will be back with the Eagles and happy to sign a contract extension. If those numbers aren’t close, one side or the other will have to knuckle under and find a better spot for Reddick to play.
Reddick and the Eagles probably want the same thing. Reports that the Eagles gave him permission to seek a trade are a reminder that you can’t always get what you want.
