A former All-Pro, Reddick offers veteran edge-rushing presence. But can a declining defender provide the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the impact they need?
Before joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Haason Reddick was an All-Pro performer who helped the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl berth.
That's certainly the type of player the Bucs could use in 2026.
Last season, the Buccaneers finished 20th in the league in scoring defense, and not one player made it to an All-Pro team.
A guy like 2022 Reddick could have made a big difference, but the Bucs had 2025 Reddick. This version of Reddick missed four games with ankle and knee problems, and when he did play, he was a far cry from the player who had double-digit sacks every year from 2020-2023 and finished tied for second in the league with 16 in 2022. Reddick's drop off began in 2024, after the Eagles traded him to the New York Jets.
Reddick's Jets tenure began with a three-month holdout, and when he did return in late October, he wasn't the same player, ending the season with one sack over 10 games.
This is why, when the Bucs signed Reddick, they only inked him to a one-year contract.
Reddick wasn't much more productive in 2025, ending the year with 2.5 sacks in 13 games.
Now, he's a free agent again, and most signs point to Tampa moving on, especially with Reddick turning 32 in late September. But there are reasons for Tampa to consider bringing him back. For one, although Reddick didn't sack QBs nearly as much as he did at his peak, he ended the season with 34 QB pressures, which was the third most on the team despite Reddick missing four games.
Tampa could draft an edge rusher in the first round, but with the team in win-now mode and other areas on the defense that need addressing, it might be wise to keep a veteran, and there aren't many edge rushers on the free agent market that have been All-Pros like Reddick has.
There are also examples across the league of "older" edge rushers playing at a high level.
Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns broke the NFL's single-season sack record after his 30th birthday.
Houston Texans' Danielle Hunter, 31, finished third in the league with 15 sacks, and Detroit Lions star Al-Quadin Muhammed ended the year with 11 sacks, which would have led Tampa Bay by four this season.
A career renaissance for Reddick isn't out of the question, but at the same time, the Bucs signed Reddick to a "prove it" deal, and he didn't "prove it."
So it's probably in Tampa's best interest to move on.
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