Most people would likely choose to spend time in Tokyo over Florham Park, New Jersey.
However, when you’re a professional athlete and supposed be reporting to training camp for your first season with a new team, it couldn’t be more highly recommended to choose the latter.
Yet, Haason Reddick has shown he isn’t like every NFL player.
On Thursday, the Jets’ two-time Pro Bowl defensive end revealed he is in Tokyo through an Instagram story on what seems to be a leisurely vacation.
Reddick is captured strolling the streets and wrote “The Lost Samurai” over the video clip.
This stunt will likely stir up more drama between Reddick and the Jets in what may be the result of a contract dispute.
He skipped optional OTA workouts and on June 11 he was absent from the team’s mandatory mini camp along with Aaron Rodgers, who was also an unexcused absence.
The Jets acquired Reddick from Philadelphia in March and he is possibly seeking a new contract, even though the Jets were under the impression from Reddick’s agents before the trade that he would start the 2024 season on the same contract.
Following the mini camp absence, head coach Robert Saleh mentioned he isn’t worried about Reddick’s holdout going into training camp nor his readiness to be on the field through the conversations between them.
“I appreciated the dialogue. He’s in a really good place mentally, working his tail off like we already know, but he’s choosing to sit out, so it’s unexcused,” Saleh said.
“I’m not concerned about Haason Reddick. I understand everything that’s happening, but at the same time I know that when it comes time to play football, he’s gonna be ready to play football,” he added.
Reddick averaged just over 12.5 sacks in the last four years and is still owed $21.8 million in 2024 as a part of the three-year, $45 million contract he signed prior to the 2022 season with the Eagles.
