Will he get eight?
It’s very easy to go under the radar when you are not seen or heard. You know, out of sight out of mind?
Well, that’s the way Garrett Podell of CBS sees it with Bucs free agent edge rusher Haason Reddick. Since (perhaps) no Bucs official or member of the Fourth Estate has seen Reddick after he signed his contract and spoke to the local pen and mic club this spring, he’s been away from One Buc Palace.
Now to be fair, Reddick was not obligated to be at OTAs. This week at minicamp he’s supposed to be there. It’s mandatory.
And yes, Joe knows Reddick is not the lone veteran to have missed some OTA practices. The difference between Reddick and others who have missed an OTA practice or two (Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Vita Vea and Antoine Winfield) is that those players are returning stars, guys who have been with the Bucs since they were drafted.
Reddick is brand new to the Bucs.
As a result of being fully out of the spotlight, Podell is of the mind Reddick could surprise folks as being an under-the-radar player.
Edge rusher Haason Reddick was one of the NFL’s top sack artists from 2020 to 2023: his 50.5 sacks were the fourth-most in the league in that span. However, a contract dispute with the Philadelphia Eagles that turned into a trade to the New York Jets last season derailed Reddick’s production. His holdout led to him not making his Jets debut in 2024 until Week 8, and he only registered one sack in New York’s final 10 games of the season. That chipped away at the 30-year-old’s ability to command a multiyear deal in free agency this offseason, which is why he settled for a one-year, $14 million deal with $12 million fully guaranteed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There’s certainly a chance Reddick could return to stardom with a regular offseason in Tampa Bay this year.
Sure, Joe gets it: OTAs are voluntary. And as long as any dude who blows off OTAs produces, OTAs don’t mean jack. If a guy doesn’t produce, blowing off OTAs will follow him around like a cloud that never goes away.
Joe would absolutely be over the moon if Reddick can get double-digit sacks. Shoot, Joe would be content with eight. The Bucs haven’t had eight sacks (from anyone, forget an edge rusher) since 2021 when Bucs sack king Shaq Barrett had 10.
How friggin’ sad is that?