Haason Reddick is coming into the 2025 NFL season with a lot to prove to a lot of people, not just the people in Tampa Bay who signed him. Jason Licht is at a lot of financial risk, but he hopes to be Yaya Diaby’s new tag team partner on the edge.
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport wrote up the biggest winners and losers from OTAs and minicamp over the last couple of weeks, and the Bucs’ big free agent signing made his list but not in the way he as hoping for.
Davenport writes, “Now, Reddick finds himself in Tampa on a one-year, “prove it” deal. Except Reddick hasn’t really been in Tampa—despite needing to learn a new defense, Reddick skipped most of OTAs to work out on his own. . .it’s not a good look for the veteran—especially after last year’s fiasco in the Big Apple. If fall rolls around and Reddick starts piling up sacks, this will all be forgotten. But if Reddick gets off to a slow start for a Buccaneers team that badly needs pass-rushing help, the grumbles are going to start regarding Reddick’s level of commitment—whether those grumbles are justified or not.”
Davenport makes a great point: If Reddick starts to produce in terms of sacks and everything else, everything else will be forgotten. He has shown before that he has All-Pro potential, but he still has to be able to pull those tricks out of the bag.
Until he proves otherwise, the 2024 season will be a dark cloud over him and potentially this defensive unit.