In lieu of giving defensive end Haason Reddick a new contract, the Eagles traded him to the Jets. And with the Jets not yet giving Reddick a new contract, he has yet to show up for offseason workouts.
As noted by Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, the most clear message could come this week, if Reddick skips the team’s mandatory minicamp and incurs fines for doing so.
The fine, which will be lower than the usual three-day punishment since the Jets have pre-reduced their camp two days, is small in comparison to the $250,000 workout bonus Reddick has already sacrificed by taking a stand. The goal is to get an enhancement over a contract that pays him $14.25 million in its final year.
Reddick has had four straight years of double-digit sacks, with three different teams. He also has never missed a game in his seven-year career.
Wherever he should fit in the grand scheme of sackmasters, he’s far too low; the top of the market is $34 million.
Here’s the other question, one that has come up several times in recent years when a team trades for a player (e.g., Laremy Tunsil to the Texans, Jamal Adams to the Seahawks, Jalen Ramsey to the Rams). Why didn’t the Jets work out a new contract at the time the trade was done?
Once the trade happens, the player has the leverage. Before the trade is done, the message from the team is simple: “You want a new contract. Your current team won’t give you one. We will. So let’s work something out, or we won’t be trading for you.”
That’s why receiver Brandon Aiyuk is still a member of the 49ers. He’s making $14.1 million this year and wants a new contract. If a team trades for him without that new contract, that team steps right into the shoes of the 49ers. No team will do that deal without a new deal for Aiyuk.
But that’s exactly what the Jets have done with Reddick. They traded for a disgruntled player who is taking a stand. Even if the Jets fully intend to give him a new deal, the Jets could have gotten better terms than they’ll ever get now, if they’d finalized a new deal at the same time they finalized the trade in late March.
The Giants saw running back Saquon Barkley leave in free agency this offseason and replaced him by signing Devin Singletary. And while some may see that as a step backward at the position, Singletary thinks he brings the same things to the Giants’ offense that Barkley did.
“I’ve been in the league just like him . . . he’s only been in the league a year before me. . . . I feel like I’m a playmaker like him, so . . . I’m just gonna be me,” Singletary told the New York Post. “It’s been going well for me since I’ve been in the league, so that’s what I’m gonna keep doing.”
Singletary, who has taken over Barkley’s No. 26 jersey, can make a good case for himself statistically: Over the five years they’ve both been in the league, Singletary has more rushing yards than Barkley and a higher yards-per-carry average than Barkley. Although Barkley produces more highlight-reel runs, Singletary has been healthier and more consistent.
Singletary said as long as the Giants are winning, he’ll be happy with whatever he can contribute.
“That’s our focus anyway — win games,” Singletary said. “We ain’t really worried about ‘The Shadow of Saquon’ or none of that. It’s just find ways to win games.”
The Giants didn’t find ways to win enough games last year. Singletary’s job is to help them change that, with Barkley now in Philadelphia.
Veteran cornerback Parry Nickerson signed with the Eagles on Friday, the team announced.
Nickerson, 29, was one of four tryout players at the Eagles’ mandatory minicamp this week.
The slot corner played for Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio with the Dolphins last season. He played five games in 2023, making five tackles on 84 defensive snaps and 19 on special teams.
The Eagles are Nickerson’s seventh team since entering the league as a sixth-round pick of the Jets in 2018. He was traded to the Seahawks before his second season and then signed with the Jaguars after being released. He moved on to the Packers in 2020 and then the Vikings for two seasons before landing in Miami for 2023.
Nickerson has 33 tackles and one pass defensed in 30 career games.
Wide receiver Hakeem Butler has been named the UFL’s first offensive player of the year.
Butler was an All-XFL selection in 2023 and he won the top offensive award for his play in the first season since that league merged with the USFL.
Butler had 45 catches for a league-high 652 receiving yards and five touchdowns for the St. Louis Battlehawks this season. He will have a chance to add to those titles in a conference title game against San Antonio this weekend.
The Cardinals took Butler in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. His only regular season action came in two games with the Eagles in 2020 and he spent some time with the Steelers last offseason before returning to spring football.
Packers running back Josh Jacobs has apologized for spreading misinformation about the NFL’s preparations for the Week One Packers-Eagles game in Brazil.
Jacobs said on Chris Long’s podcast that players weren’t supposed to wear green while they’re in Brazil, as a safety precaution because it’s a color associated with violent gangs. The NFL has said that is inaccurate, and now Jacobs has acknowledged as much.
“Damn I was misinformed,” Jacobs wrote on Instagram. “Sorry Brazil see you soon.”
The misinformation apparently stemmed from the game’s venue, Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, where the home soccer team Corinthians tells its players not to wear the color green because it’s worn by rival Palmeiras. But it doesn’t apply to American football teams playing in the stadium, and there will be plenty of green on the field and in the stands for the Packers-Eagles game on September 6.
We posted the content of his comments on Thursday. We played them on Friday morning’s PFT Live.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said that the team’s offense is “95 percent” new. Although he often comes off as relaxed and understated, his explanation of the dramatic changes to the team’s offense arguably suggests that he’s perhaps not particularly enthused.
That’s not to say he should be jumping up and down. But there was no sense of excitement or anticipation when he was talking about the dramatic overhaul of the offense.
It could that Hurts wonders whether the next change will be him, if things don’t improve in 2024.
There would obvious contractual complications. A significant cap hit would be unavoidable, in 2025 or 2026. Still, if the Eagles struggle (again) and if coach Nick Sirianni ends up being fired, the next coach might want a different quarterback than Hurts.
Thus, while the Eagles are still regarded as one of the most talented teams in football, the coaching staff has undergone significant changes. The offense will undergo a significant change. If these changes don’t lead to better rules, more changes are inevitable.
Dom DiSandro has a new title. The new title does not translate to new access to the field or new abilities to interact with opposing players.
DiSandro has added “gameday coaching operations” to his prior titles — senior advisor to the General Manager and chief security officer. Some have interpreted this enhancement to reflect an effort by the Eagles to insulate DiSandro from the discipline he received as a result of his actions during the Week 13 loss to the 49ers.
In that situation, DiSandro (who was banished from the sideline for the rest of the regular season) involved himself in an altercation and made contact with a 49ers player. His new title will not give him license to do that.
The Eagles characterized the interpretation as speculation, and they’ve explained that they have not told any media members that DiSandro’s new title gives him new access or rights.
The memo sent to all teams on September 13, 2023 said this: “Non-player personnel of a club (e.g., management personnel, coaches, trainers, equipment personnel) are prohibited from making unnecessary physical contact with or directing abusive, threatening, or insulting language or gestures at opponents, game officials, or representatives of the League. Violations before or during the game may also result in disqualification. Any violations at the game site on the day of the game, including postgame, may result in discipline by the Commissioner. Penalty: Loss of 15 yards.”
On December 6, 2023 (after the DiSandro incident), the league said this in another memo: The Playing Rules of the National Football League, and our Game Operations Policies, clearly prohibit non-player personnel — coaches, trainers, equipment staff, security officers, or others — from making physical contact with, taunting, or directing abusive or insulting language toward opposing players, game officials, or others involved in a game. If an altercation occurs, club personnel are to allow the coaches and game officials to manage the situation, with the officials assessing appropriate penalties, with assistance from the League Office as needed. Under no circumstances are club personnel to engage with or make physical contact with another club’s player(s) or other personnel.”
So, no, the new title changes nothing. If DiSandro makes “unnecessary physical contact with or [directs] abusive, threatening, or insulting language or gestures at opponents, game officials, or representatives of the League,” he’ll face another banishment from the sideline. If anything, his history and the higher position of trust and responsibility that his new title reflects could make the next punishment even worse.
When Mekhi Becton signed with the Eagles as a free agent, head coach Nick Sirianni said that the team would start the 2020 Jets first-round pick at tackle and see how things go from there.
Things have unfolded in a way that Becton saw snaps at left guard this week with Landon Dickerson excused from the team’s minicamp. It’s a new spot for Becton, who played both tackle spots when he wasn’t on injured reserve with the Jets, and it’s one where he thinks his size benefits him.
“There’s no 6-foot-7 guards,” Becton said, via Bob Grotz of the Delaware County Daily Times. “So, D-tackles are used to short people with shorter arms. I feel like I’ve got an advantage in that standpoint of my arms and arm length and being able to get on them quicker than they’re used to. . . . Guard is all hand work and you’ve got to be ready to fight going in.”
Dickerson will be back at left guard come camp, but the team hasn’t settled on a right guard yet and Becton could move into consideration if he thrives on the interior. If not, the flexibility should still be a plus when it comes to winning a roster spot in Philly this year.
The Eagles have added a new title to chief security officer Dom DiSandro’s title ahead of the 2024 season.
The team announced that DiSandro is now in charge of gameday coaching operations. The move is likely related to an incident from last year’s regular season game against the 49ers.
DiSandro was ejected from the game after making contact with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw during a post-play scrum on the Eagles sideline. DiSandro, who also has a senior advisor to the General Manager title, was barred from the sideline for the rest of the regular season.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports DiSandro’s new role involves “overseeing Nick Sirianni’s coaches on game days” and was likely meant to avoid any chance of further discipline should a similar situation arise in the future.
The Eagles announced a number of other title changes and hires in football operations and scouting, including moving Adam Berry, who is the brother of Browns G.M. Andrew Berry, to vice president of football operations and strategy.
The Eagles wrapped up their mandatory minicamp on Thursday and they also wrapped up their draft pick signings.
Their top pick from April was the last member of the group to agree to a deal. First-round cornerback Quinyon Mitchell signed a four-year deal with the team and the Eagles hold an option for a fifth season.
Mitchell broke up 38 passes while at Toledo the last two years and had six interceptions, including a four-interception game during the 2022 season.
The Eagles also added Cooper DeJean in the second round and the two rookies will vie for work in the secondary along with Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, and James Bradberry.