NFL veteran pass rusher Haason Reddick signed a contract worth up to $8 million with the Carolina Panthers. Reddick spent the first four seasons of his career with the Arizona Cardinals.
The #Panthers are signing former #AZCardinals pass-rusher Haason Reddick, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo. A major move on the edge in Carolina.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2021
Haason Reddick, Carolina Panthers, Agree to Contract
Haason Reddick experienced a breakout year in 2020. With the loss of Chandler Jones, Reddick established himself as the Cardinals’ premier pass-rushing option. Although pressure came from various sources throughout the year, Reddick in particular shined throughout. The pinnacle of his season was a five-sack performance against the New York Giants in Week 14. In a career day, Reddick also added three forced fumbles on his way to earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Ultimately, Reddick finished the season with 12.5 sacks, tied for the fourth in the league, and 6 forced fumbles, second in the league.
After years of inconsistency, a full season at outside linebacker saw Reddick have his most productive year in 2020. Heading into the year, Reddick’s future was uncertain after the Cardinals chose to decline the player’s fifth-year option. This followed a 2019 in which the Cardinals defense was one of the worst in the NFL. Reddick was a notable part of the unit’s poor performances. Throughout the year, Reddick played inside linebacker in Vance Joseph’s 3-4 scheme, with veterans Terrell Suggs and Chandler Jones starting on the outside. The previous season saw Reddick utilised as a 4-3 outside linebacker in Steve Wilks‘ short tenure with the Cardinals. Prior to this, in his rookie year, he competed for the ‘Money’ linebacker position under Bruce Arians.
Reddick’s first three years in the NFL saw him play in three different positions in three different schemes under three different coaches. He has been largely used as an off the ball, weakside linebacker, as opposed to the edge rusher role in which he excelled in 2020. In college, Reddick played defensive end and attended the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine as such. Despite this, during the pre-draft process, he emerged as a top prospect at inside linebacker. He was drafted by the Cardinals at 13th overall.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
