At the NFL Scouting Combine two weeks ago, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles said he was eager to watch the edge rush draft prospects gathered in Indianapolis. Bowles acknowledged that his defense had to get better at producing pressure on opposing quarterbacks from the outside.
The Buccaneers didn't wait for the draft in April to begin attacking that problem. On Thursday, the second day of the NFL's unrestricted free agency period, Tampa Bay signed former New York Jets outside linebacker Haason Reddick to a one-year deal. Reddick hit double digits in sacks in four of the last five seasons – for three different teams – and has generated 59.0 sacks and 121 quarterback pressures in his eight-year career so far.
Reddick spent just one season in New York, and it was essentially a lost campaign due to a trade from the Philadelphia Eagles and a contract disagreement with the Jets. He played in only 10 games with two starts and finished the season with 1.0 sack.
However, from 2020-23, Reddick was one of the most productive pass rushers in the NFL. He racked up 50.5 sacks in those four seasons, fourth among all NFL players in that span behind only T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett and Trey Hendrickson. Reddick also recorded 83 quarterback hits and 51 tackles for loss in that span.
Reddick began his NFL career as a first-round draft pick (13th overall) of the Arizona Cardinals in 2017. Arizona used the former Temple standout primarily as an off-ball linebacker during his first three seasons and he generated just 7.5 sacks in that span. However, when he finally got his opportunity to work as an edge rusher in 2020, Reddick immediately produced a 12.5-sack season while also forcing six fumbles.
That breakout campaign was his last before hitting free agency, and Reddick signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers, set to prove that his 2020 output was no fluke. After producing another 11-sack season for the Panthers, he landed a three-year deal with the Philadelphia. Reddick followed with 16 and 11-sack seasons in two years with the Eagles, earning his first two Pro Bowl berths in the process. He was also named a second-team Associated Press All-Pro in 2022, finishing fourth in the voting for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He was traded to the Jets last April.
In all, Reddick has played in 124 regular-season games with 83 starts and has amassed 424 tackles, 59.0 sacks, 102 quarterback hits, 71 tackles for loss, 20 passes defensed, 17 forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries. He played in and started four postseason contests with the Eagles after the 2022 and 2023 seasons and added another 3.5 sacks plus a forced fumble.
The Buccaneers finished with 46 sacks overall in 2024, tied for the sixth-most in the league, but also blitzed at one of the highest rates in the league, with Bowles noting in Indianapolis that the defense had to do a better job of generating pressure when rushing only four. Tampa Bay's two leading sack producers were interior defensive linemen Calijah Kancey (7.5) and Vita Vea (7.0). In addition, three of the team's current outside linebackers – Shaquil Barrett, Anthony Nelson and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka – are all set to become unrestricted free agents on Wednesday.