The Eagles made their first big move of free agency on Monday, signing pass rusher Haason Reddick to a three-year deal.
Here are four positives and three negatives of the signing:
POSITIVES:
Key position of need: The Eagles had to do something at pass rusher. Their pass rush, for the first time in a long time, was a weakness of the team last season. They threw money at the problem by going out and signing arguably the best pass rusher on the market. At the very least, Reddick should be an upgrade over all the edge rushers they had last season. It should be a safe assumption that he will be better than all the edge rushers likely to be on the roster next season as well. Players like Reddick — at his age with his production — don’t hit the market often. The Eagles did the right thing by making sure they signed one of the best options on the market and didn’t put the pressure on a first-round rookie to come in and produce right away.
Track record of success: The Eagles haven’t had a defensive end finish a season with double-digit sacks since 2014, when Connor Barwin finished with 14.5 sacks. They haven’t had the same defensive end finish with double-digit sacks in back-to-back season since Trent Cole did it in 2009/2010 — meaning it has been over 10 years since the Eagles had a pass rusher the opposing team really had to worry about coming off the edge going into a game. Reddick hasn’t totaled the 23.5 sacks over the last two years in an Eagles jersey, but his reputation will come with him from Carolina. Unlike last season, the Eagles now have an edge rusher that opposing teams will have to game plan for and worry about in the week of preparation for the game. Combine that with his age and Reddick has a chance to be one of the best edge rushers this team has had in a very long time.
Age: As mentioned above, it isn’t often that players with Reddick’s recent resume of bringing down the quarterback hit the market. It is even less frequent that player hits the market at Reddick’s age. If the Eagles had signed 32-year old Chandler Jones to fix their pass rush problem it would have been understandable. To get Reddick and just 27-years old puts this deal in the same category as the Brandon Brooks, Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod deals the team signed in 2015/2016 — impact players at key positions of need that are also young enough to build around.
Money: The exact breakdown of the money the Eagles gave Reddick aren’t out yet, but what is known is that it is a three-year, $45 million deal that has $30 million in guarantees. That is pretty cheap for what should be the team’s No. 1 edge rusher and arguably the best edge rusher on the market. The Eagles needed to throw money at their pass rush problem, as mentioned above. They didn’t have to throw as much money as expected.
NEGATIVES:
Size: Reddick is not the prototypical body type for a defensive end. Reddick stands 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, which is why he was initially projected to be more of a 3-4 outside linebacker than a 4-3 defensive end. Reddick has stayed healthy throughout the last two seasons spending the majority of his time along the defensive line, which is encouraging. His speed combined with his small stature (for the position) has helped him against bigger offensive tackles — so his size isn’t a complete negative. Reddick, however, is not going to overpower offensive tackles and isn’t the ideal kind of athlete teams ideally want at the position.
Versatility: Yes, versatility is in the negative category. Why? Because the reality is that Reddick isn’t actually versatile. He might have lined up at linebacker during his time in Arizona, but he didn’t play well when he was lined up there, which is why the team didn’t pick up his fifth-year option and had to move him pretty much full-time to defensive end. The moved ended up being a lucrative one for Reddick, but the mere fact he has lined up at linebacker could be enough to tempt the Eagles into trying to get creative with how they use him. Hopefully they do not. He should not be spending anytime at linebacker. The Eagles need an edge rusher — not someone to fill in to Genard Avery’s role. This move has the potential for disaster if the Eagles move Reddick back into the role he played in Arizona.
Why didn’t Reddick break the bank?: Last offseason, Reddick was a 26-year old pass rusher coming off of season with 12.5 sacks. He got a one-year, $6 million contract. This offseason, Reddick is a 27-year old pass rusher coming of off another double-digit sack season. He not only was able to hit the open market — which is rare — but he didn’t get crazy money. Reddick got three-years, $45 million. Javon Hargrave, who was a basically a run-stopping defensive tackle in Pittsburgh, got three-years, $39 million two years ago. Perhaps this is over thinking it, but the fact is twice Reddick seemed primed to really cash in and the league didn’t blow him away with a big offer. Pass rushers at his age with his resume should be getting more money. It is weird and a bit of a red flag that twice the league has had an a chance to overpay Reddick, something they do to free agents frequently, and didn’t either time.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com