The Buccaneers signed pass rusher Haason Reddick last month expecting him to get back to Pro Bowl form, according to coach Todd Bowles.
Reddick had a strange season in 2024, getting traded from the Eagles to the Jets and then asking for the Jets to trade him before ever playing for them. He did eventually play for the Jets, but he finished the season with only one sack. Bowles, however, said he has been watching Reddick for years, and Bucs assistant Larry Foote knows Reddick well, and the Bucs are confident in what they have.
“I knew him as a player,” Bowles said. “Foote had a lot to do with him, and we talked about it quite a bit. I knew he was a heck of a pass rusher. We needed a pass rusher, and we knew he started halfway through the season, so I would consider last season a wash for him, and we expect him to be his old self with us.”
Reddick had double-digit sacks for four straight years from 2020 to 2023, and that excites Bowles, who wants to the Bucs to be able to pressure the quarterback with only their front four and not have to bring blitzing linebackers and defensive backs.
“He can rush the passer,” Bowles said. “So if we got guys that can rush the passer, we let them rush the passer. Like I said last year, we need to rush better with four. I think he brings a great addition to help us rush with four so we can cover more and do those type of things. We’ll still pressure some, but hopefully it won’t be as much as last year because we had to instead of how we want to. So I think he brings that to the table for us.”
If the 30-year-old Reddick can look more like the player he was in Philadelphia and not like the player he was in New York, he’ll be a very welcome addition in Tampa Bay.
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