Jeff Ulbrich insists he doesn’t speak to his players about the continued holdout of imported former Pro Bowl edge rusher Haason Reddick, but the Jets defensive coordinator had a message for those defensive linemen competing for playing time in his absence.
“For every single defensive end on this team, one less rep for the guy that could have been here is one more rep for all of these players,” Ulbrich said Wednesday on a Zoom call. “So it’s collectively, from a Will McDonald standpoint, from a Micheal Clemons standpoint, and every single one of the guys behind them, it’s a great opportunity, it really is. And they’re taking advantage of it.”
The 29-year-old Reddick, the two-time Pro Bowler acquired from the Eagles in April, formally requested a trade Monday. His holdout, which is costing him $50,000 for every day he’s not in camp, reached Day 23 on Wednesday.
Reddick, whose cap hit for 2024 is $14.25 million, has totaled 50.5 of his 58 career sacks over the past four seasons, including 11 in 17 games for the Eagles last year.
GM Joe Douglas publicly shot down Reddick’s trade request, but the Jets are left for now with a gaping hole to fill on the right side of the defensive line — opposite left defensive end Jermaine Johnson — after the departures of Bryce Huff via free agency and John Franklin-Myers in an offseason trade.
“I think the guys understand the business part of this, and it’s real, and we acknowledge and recognize it, but at the same time, we’ve got work to do,” Ulbrich said. “For the guys that are here, we’re going to work, and try to be the defense that we want to become and are capable of becoming.”
McDonald was last year’s first-round pick, but even as the 15th overall selection, he played sparingly as a rookie and finished with three sacks in 15 games.
Clemons, whom the Jets grabbed in the fourth round in 2022, also is receiving an opportunity to snag the starting spot on the right side.
The Jets could employ them as a two-pronged combination if Reddick’s absence continues, although Ulbrich praised the 6-foot-5, 263-pound Clemons as “a first- and second-down player who’s really making a case for a third-down role now.”
Ulbrich noted the Jets tried to get Clemons to put on some pounds last year, but he’s back down to his previous playing weight.
“He is a big, strong man,” Ulbrich said. “He has all the toughness, and he has all the length, and he has all the size, and he has the power and the mindset, and all that.
“All of a sudden, we got him back to that weight that he was at, and he looks amazing. His movement is so much better than it’s ever been. His pass rush is really starting to develop. I’m so excited about what he can be, excited to see where Mike’s going.”
Both players figure to dress in Saturday’s preseason game in Carolina, although Ulbrich said it will be a game-time decision on how much, if at all, the other defensive regulars will play.
“Just [looking for] incremental improvement in every way,” Ulbrich said. “Game 1, typically from a defensive perspective, tackling is never the greatest. Because that is our first real opportunity to get guys to the ground.
“So if there was one thing that I absolutely can point to that has to get better — and will get better — is our tackling.”
