There are a handful of players in every sport who are so good year after year, and you wonder if and when people will figure it out. Philadelphia Eagles edge-rusher Haason Reddick is one of those players. The Arizona Cardinals selected Reddick with the 13th overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Temple, and wrong-headedly tried to make him an off-ball linebacker in his first three seasons.
That didn’t work too well, and it was only in 2020, his fourth NFL season, that he was put on the edge where he belonged. Reddick responded with a career-high 13 sacks and 56 total pressures, and the Cardinals responded by letting him walk. The Carolina Panthers signed Reddick to a one-year, $6 million contract in the 2021 offseason, and Reddick bumped his career high in sacks with 15.
Still, the Panthers apparently hadn’t seen enough. This time, it was the Philadelphia Eagles’ turn, and they at least got Reddick in the ballpark of his worth on the field with a three-year, $45 million deal. Reddick rewarded his new team with an 18-sack, 68-pressure regular season.
And Reddick was just getting going. In the first quarter of the Eagles’ divisional round matchup with the New York Giants, Reddick completely demolished Big Blue’s offensive line for two sacks. Moreover, Reddick did it on back-to-back plays.
Reddickulous@Haason7Reddick | #NYGvsPHI | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/5cYl8wJiEI
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 22, 2023
The sacks came on third and fourth down with 6:29 and 5:46 left in the first quarter, so they were each pretty important.
The “clutchness” of these sacks shouldn’t come as a surprise. In the regular season, Reddick tied for the NFL lead in third-down sacks with Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders, Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Quinnen Williams of the New York Jets.
Now, he’s alone with the lead — and hopefully, with the full recognition his talent deserves.