With Haason Reddick and the New York Jets at a continual contract impasse, the world keeps spinning.
On Monday, August 5 the green and white released its unofficial depth chart and defensive lineman Micheal Clemons has taken Reddick’s place in the starting lineup.
“He [Clemons] has been getting a lot of first-team reps because he has also looked pretty damn good,” Jets reporter Nick Faria told me on my radio show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green.”
“I think the Jets see him as the John Franklin-Myers replacement. The fact that he’s on the first team right now kind of shows that. They see him as the run-stuffing defensive end. Yes, he can sometimes rush the passer but when he’s on the field the expectation is he will stop the run, he contains his gaps, sets the edge, and all those different things that defensive ends are required to do,” Faria explained to me.
On the Jets’ unofficial depth chart, Clemons and Jermaine Johnson were listed as the starting “EDGE” players on the defensive side of the ball. Reddick, who hasn’t reported to training camp, was listed as fourth string “EDGE” player behind Clemons.
Remarkable Turnaround for Clemons Over the Course of a Couple of Months
Clemons was a popular cut candidate brought up by Jets analysts throughout the offseason.
Despite some noise from outside the building, the Jets have remained steadfast in their belief in Clemons.
“We feel like we have some young guys that can step up. Kind of take that ambassador of violence role that JFM had for a few years here. Talk about a guy like Micheal Clemons. This is year three for Mike, he’s gotten better in his first two years here. It’s a great opportunity for him to take that baton from JFM and really be the enforcer on our defense,” general manager Joe Douglas said back in May.
Clemons, 26, is entering his third season in the NFL. He originally joined the league as the No. 117 overall pick in the fourth round.
Clemons had a unique path to the NFL that included him spending five years in college from 2017 through 2021. The former Texas A&M product will be 27 years of age ahead of the 2024 campaign.
In his two seasons at the professional level, Clemons has appeared in 32 games. During that period, he has racked up three sacks, seven quarterback hits, six tackles for loss, and has totaled 63 tackles.
Reddick’s Absence Continues From Jets Camp
Reddick missed practice No. 15 of training camp on Tuesday, August 6 according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.
That is $750,000 total in fines just from missing the entirety of training camp. He has been fined a non-waivable $50,000 per day missed.
In addition, he forfeited a $250,000 workout bonus from skipping OTAs. He was fined another $100,000 for missing the team’s two-day mandatory minicamp.
On top of all of that, he could be issued an optional $300,000 fine for not showing up to training camp yet. All in all, we have reached $1.4 million in fines with no end in sight.
Reddick is in the last year of his deal and was scheduled to make $14.25 million in 2024 before factoring in fines.
