The Las Vegas Raiders face several decisions on some of their key free agents over the next couple of weeks.
One of the bigger questions revolves around edge rusher Malcolm Koonce, who took the league by storm opposite Maxx Crosby in 2023. Koonce put together a career year with eight sacks that season, priming himself for a breakout 2024 at the end of his rookie contract. Unfortunately, Koonce suffered a season-ending injury shortly before the opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, putting his potentially lucrative free agent deal in jeopardy.
Regardless of he re-signs with the Raiders or heads elsewhere in free agency, the team needs to establish depth on the defensive line.
Could the Raiders look towards Haason Reddick as an option to bolster their pass rush?
According to USA Today’s Tyler Dragon, the Raiders stand out as the best fit for the New York Jets pass rusher.
“Unfortunately for Reddick, most of the news he made during the 2024 season came from his lengthy holdout,” Dragon wrote. “Reddick tallied just one sack in 10 games after skipping part of the season, snapping a streak of four straight seasons with at least 11 sacks.”
“Reddick desires a Pro Bowl-level salary. The Raiders have over $92 million in salary cap space via Over the Cap. Las Vegas has enough money to splurge on a pass rusher to pair with Maxx Crosby.”
Reddick bet heavily on himself in 2024, only to watch his gambit backfire in spectacular fashion.
Traded to the Jets from the Philadelphia Eagles last offseason, Reddick held out of training camp until he received a hefty extension. After the two sides failed to reach an agreement and Reddick’s holdout bled into the season, he joined the Jets in hopes of securing his desired payday with his play. Unfortunately for him, he recorded only one sack in ten games, meaning he is almost certainly limited to a one-year ‘prove it’ deal.
While Reddick fumbled the bag, there is plenty of reason to believe his low price tag could result in one of the offseason’s best bargains.
Prior to last season, Reddick recorded four straight seasons of at least 11 sacks with the Eagles, Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals. This string of success guided Reddick to two Pro Bowls, and he finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2022 after putting up a career-high 16 sacks. For a player set to make $11.7 million according to Spotrac’s market valuation, that is incredibly high production for such a modest price tag.
If a bidding war on Koonce results in him becoming too rich for the Raiders’ blood, Reddick stands out as a cheap short-term fix while the team assembles a long-term plan.