After missing out on all-pro and finishing a distant fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting last year, Haason Reddick was vocal about the lack of respect he felt like he was getting.
No more.
After recording 16 sacks in the regular season last year and 3 ½ more in the postseason, Reddick is finished campaigning for himself.
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You want to know how good he is? Just watch him play.
“Man, I’m done talking like I have anything to prove to anybody,” Reddick said after practice Monday. “I’ve put enough work out there, I’ve put enough film out there, enough tape out there, that my play now speaks for itself. People can make their opinions off of that.
“I don’t have to second-guess myself. I don’t feel like I have to show anybody anything. I’ve done that all. I’m at the point now where I’m done talking like I have anything to prove to anybody. It’s just how can Haason be better as a football player and a person and how can I continue to help the team.”
Reddick tied for second in the NFL in sacks during the regular season with 16, and his 19 ½ total sacks were most in the NFL.
NFL
In Eagles history, only Reggie White has had more combined sacks in a season. His 3 ½ postseason sacks set an Eagles record for a single postseason.
“For myself, when I talk about expectations, I always talk about the expectations that I have, nobody else really matters to me,” he said. “So for myself, it’s just being better than I was last year. Last year was a great year but it’s a new year and I’m trying to do it all over again and the only thing I’m worried about is being better than last year.”
After a sluggish start to his career — 7 ½ sacks playing out of position with Arizona — Reddick’s 39 ½ sacks since 2020 are 3rd-most in the NFL over the last three years, behind only Myles Garrett (44.0) and T.J. Watt (43.0). So most in the NFC.
He’s now hunting for one thing.
“Greatness,” he said. “You’re playing a sport like this, what are you playing for? Some people are playing for a paycheck. Me? I come out here every day and I go hard and I work. Why? Because I want to be great. I want to be in the Hall of Fame. I want to be a decorated player. So I come out, I give my all and I work.
“Nothing else motivates me other than being the best player I can be. Because when it’s all said and done, when you say Haason Reddick’s name, it should be about, 'How did he turn his career around? How did he become a legend at what he does?'”
Reddick, a Haddon Heights and Temple graduate, said he set the Hall of Fame as a goal the day the Cards drafted him 13th overall in 2017.
“What do you do this for? What is it for? Are you just going to be here to be here or are you a guy that’s trying to be one of the best?” he said. “It’s been on my mind since Day 1, since I was first drafted. I always wanted to be the best, I always wanted to be one of the best ones in the league. And that’s what I strive to do.”
We all know Reddick is underpaid.
There are 15 edge rushers earning more than his $15 million annual average. He’s scheduled to be a free agent after the 2025 season, and if the Eagles are going to extend him it almost certainly won’t be until after this coming season.
But he’ll be 29 next month, and there’s no guarantee that will happen.
“I mean, y’all see it, y’all know what’s going on,” Reddick said when asked about his contract. “I’m worried about being the best version of myself and letting everything else sort itself out. Truly."
Reddick said he took his nameplate from the Eagles’ locker room at State Farm Stadium after the Super Bowl and now has it sitting on the floor at his locker in the NovaCare Complex as a daily reminder of the disappointment of Super Bowl LVII.
He’s determined to help the Eagles get back to a Super Bowl and win it. And determined to play better in 2023 than he did in 2022.
Talk about lofty goals.
“Listen, 19 ½ (sacks) last year, in order to be better, (20 sacks) is the goal I set for myself,” he said. “Nobody placed that goal on me. That’s what I have for myself and now it’s up to me to try and go out and do it.”
Reddick is the only player in NFL history who had fewer than eight sacks his first three years and 37 or more the next three. Michael McCrary was close (6 1/2 the first three years, 37 the next three).
“For whatever reason, those first (few) years, they were down years,” he said. “Now I’m at a point where even though my production is crazy, last year, crazy productive year, the name is catching up with the work.
"First couple years kind of put me behind. But I’m here, I’ve shown it. One of the most elite. One of the best at what I do. One of the top five.
"When you talk about Haason Reddick, if I’m not in that category, now I’ve got to question, 'Do you really know football?'”
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