The Arizona Cardinals had a chance to keep Haason Reddick following the 2020 season and instead, they let him walk for nothing.
Following the 2020 season, I said that if there is one bold thing the Arizona Cardinals should do when the offseason begins, it was to trade Chandler Jones, which would mean striking a deal with Haason Reddick. My justification? Reddick was coming off of a career season with the Cardinals while an older Jones was coming off of a biceps injury.
At the time, Jones had a year left on his deal, which ran through 2021. A player who, despite logging just 1.5 sacks before his injury, spent 2019 chasing quarterbacks. Just one season removed from that 19-sack campaign, someone would have taken the bait for Jones.
Meanwhile, they let their premier pass rusher from 2020 in Reddick sign with the Carolina Panthers. And while Jones had a solid comeback season with 10.5 sacks in 2021, Reddick posted similar numbers with 11. Reddick then went to the Philadelphia Eagles while Jones signed with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Come 2022, the Cardinals had two remarkable pass rushers, and let them both walk for nothing. Instead, they could have signed Reddick to a long-term deal following the 2020 season while opting to trade Jones before trade rumors surrounded the edge rusher in the Summer of 2021.
Arizona Cardinals fans have to be missing Haason Reddick
This past week, the Haason Reddick received Player of the Week honors, forcing and recovering two fumbles and logging two sacks in the Philadelphia Eagles win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Now, the Cardinals get to deal with Reddick, who has 14.5 sacks since leaving the desert.
And while Reddick has not played at a Pro Bowl level, just about every fan in the Red Sea needs to admit the obvious: The Arizona Cardinals pass rush would be in much better shape with Reddick lining up on the outside.
It was yet another missed opportunity from general manager Steve Keim. And the Cardinals may just pay the price on Sunday if Reddick’s homecoming in the desert goes anything like it did last weekend against Jacksonville. If that’s the case, we will all be missing Haason Reddick.
(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)