NFL Insider Adam Caplan Analyzes Reddick's Holdout, Steelers Camp

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00:00Adam Kaplan is our NFL insider and sports grid, NFL analyst, almost three decades covering

00:11the NFL.

00:12You can follow him on Axxon Kaplan NFL, and he has just come back from lovely Latrobe,

00:19Pennsylvania, right near Ligonier, Arnie Palmer's home, to see the Steelers at St. Vincent at

00:27training camp.

00:28We'll talk about that in a second.

00:31I want to start with Reddick's holdout.

00:34You know, I've said earlier on the show today, this has gotten ugly, where he's not showing

00:40up at all, getting fine $50,000 a day.

00:43And then Joe Douglas flat out came out today and said, you know, Reddick said, I want to

00:47be traded.

00:48And then moments later, within minutes, Douglas said, allegedly, you know, we're not trading

00:55you.

00:56We'll just let this continue on until you get here.

00:59Now, Douglas claims they won't even begin to negotiate with Reddick until he shows up.

01:05Yeah.

01:06So, Scott, let's pick it up there.

01:08Joe Douglas is what we call an old school GM.

01:11He wants things done a certain way.

01:14Old school GMs typically will not negotiate with an agent unless the player shows up.

01:19And Reddick is not, has not shown up.

01:21You mentioned $50,000 a day.

01:24That's what happened with Chris Jones a couple of years ago, and he wound up really not getting

01:27what he wanted until last year, of course, when he got his deal done.

01:30So it doesn't help you by not showing up.

01:34Half of life, as they say, is showing up, and it's not like the Jets didn't know that

01:37he wanted a new deal.

01:38They talked to his agent and Asan at the time of the trade, but they could not get that

01:43deal done then.

01:44And you fast forward to now, and you have an ugly situation now.

01:47Will McDonald, by the way, the first round pick out of last year out of Iowa State, I'm

01:51told, has done very well in his place.

01:52But he's not as accomplished, obviously, as Reddick, who, by the way, turns 30 this fall.

01:57He's scheduled to make just over $14 million.

02:00None of that money's guaranteed.

02:01Reddick, I'm told, wanted somewhere over $25 million a year was what he was looking for.

02:06I don't know how we'd view it now that the Brian Burns deal got done, which is over $28

02:11million.

02:12Now Burns is younger, no question about it, but Asan's a terrific player, great for the

02:16community.

02:17And by the way, we have to remember this.

02:18He's from the New Jersey area.

02:21This is a great way to end his career if he gets his deal.

02:24And this is not what the Jets wanted.

02:26But Scott, I could tell you my experience of covering these situations is clubs typically

02:31believe that they're going to get a deal done or they won't do it.

02:35And it's not like this is a secret.

02:37They were dealing with Asan and his agent at the time of the trade in March.

02:41That's why it's so surprising that a deal's not done.

02:43I get it.

02:44There's still three weeks left, just under four weeks until the season starts.

02:48This is not the kind of situation you want with Aaron Rodgers healthy.

02:51There's a lot of optimism around the Jets will be with the Jets next week when they

02:54have a joint practice with the Giants.

02:56But bottom line is, this is not a good story for them.

02:59This should not have happened.

03:00And by the way, the Eagles knew it.

03:02They were not going to extend Redick's deal.

03:03They're not going to pay Asan what he wanted.

03:06They got what they thought was a good deal, a future 2025 third round pick that could

03:11be as much as a second.

03:13So right now, the Eagles obviously are keeping an eye on this and maybe they knew something

03:17because a deal is not getting done or will not even be talked about.

03:21Joe Douglas put it out there.

03:22That's a statement from the club.

03:23I mean, this is actually real.

03:25I know this guy.

03:26He's not going to deal with this unless Asan shows up, then we'll start looking at it.

03:30Well, you also know Asan Redick.

03:33You know Douglas and you know Redick and you know how good he is.

03:37What is the problem here?

03:39Can this guy not lead the Jets in sacks?

03:43There's nothing wrong with his game.

03:44I don't understand why the Eagles, it was obviously they just didn't want to pay him.

03:50How can he not be worth the money if he has the numbers that he has in the sacks?

03:56It is really confounding.

03:57Now, I'll say this about Asan Redick.

03:59He is, since the Cardinals could not figure out how to use him, the Eagles sure did.

04:03Made him a stand-up pass rusher and he was phenomenal.

04:05He did also, by the way, before that, he got the big deal with the Eagles.

04:09Now, I say big deal.

04:10It was three-year, $45 million two years ago in March of 2022.

04:13Coming off of a career year with the Panthers, then did it again in 22 in the Eagles Super Bowl run.

04:18He was phenomenal.

04:19Not quite as good last year, but still very good.

04:22Another great part of Asan Redick is his durability.

04:26He's one of the most durable players of his day.

04:28Just a terrific football player.

04:29You know, he was, it's funny, the Cardinals, Scott, they tried to make him an inside backer.

04:33That never worked.

04:34The Cardinals, late in his career with them, moved him to edge rusher.

04:38And that's what he's done over the last three years.

04:40And he's terrific.

04:41Look, 30 is, look, we could argue where he's at in his career.

04:4730, typically, 32, 33, you're done in the National Football League.

04:51But he's been so healthy.

04:52But the one leverage point here is, look, they've got Will McDonnell, who was the first-round pick last year.

04:56Now, I say that.

04:58The Jets won him in camp.

05:01And if he shows up, something could potentially get done.

05:03But I know the way Joe does things.

05:05And Woody Johnson, the owner, they're not going to deal with him unless he shows up.

05:09Period. End of story.

05:11All right. You were at the Steelers' camp for two days.

05:14Where do we begin?

05:17Let's begin with, let's begin with their offensive scheme.

05:20Now, we know Arthur Smith.

05:22He's there because he wants to run the football.

05:23That's the kind of offensive coordinator and play caller he is.

05:27Did a great job with Derrick Henry.

05:29Didn't go so well during his tenure with the Falcons as the head coach and play caller.

05:33But, you know, it starts with a run.

05:35It always has and always will under Mike Tomlin.

05:38That's what he wants.

05:40And that's what they're going to get with Arthur Smith.

05:42They have two really good backs.

05:43Najee Harris looks really good, by the way.

05:44He's in pretty good shape.

05:46They've got that great one-two punch with him and Jalen Warren.

05:49And then when you really look at it, it's a problem opposite George Pickens.

05:53Van Jefferson, I'm told, has been a really good story, former Ram second-round pick.

05:57But I think if you're really deep at receiver, he's probably a number four or number three,

06:01not number two.

06:03And that's why we have the heightened interest in Brandon Ayuk.

06:06But Ayuk was still dealing with the Niners.

06:08They're still trying to get something done with him.

06:09It's not going to be easy.

06:11But getting back to the Steelers, Calvin Austin also has made some plays the last couple days.

06:15Now, Sonny's practice, because they played Friday night at home against the Texans, they

06:20were in shells.

06:21It was a shorter practice, about 90 minutes.

06:24But today's practice, in beautiful weather in Latrobe at St. Vincent's College, right?

06:31They brought the Paz out and they hit, okay, Scott.

06:33They're one of the few teams, talking to the Lions, the Lions also hit quite a bit in training

06:36camp.

06:38The Steelers do.

06:39They're in pads a lot.

06:40And showed it was very, very physical.

06:42There was about a skirmish for about a second and a half, and the guys were laughing, but

06:45there was a lot of pushing.

06:46Very spirited practice, but Scott, I could tell you a quarterback.

06:50You don't need to watch long to see the difference between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.

06:54Fields has got the great arm, great athlete.

06:57Russell's in pretty good physical shape, but it's his willingness to make tough throws.

07:02Justin Fields is more what we call a see-it-and-throw-it guy.

07:05When he decides he's going to throw it, he throws it with anticipation and timing.

07:10And that ball came out today.

07:11He had a very good practice.

07:12But listen, Scott, it's a two-tight-end offense.

07:15There's no question.

07:16But Darnell Washington, who I'm guessing, who's 6'7", is at least 280, he looks like

07:21an offensive tackle, but he can run.

07:24He looks really, really good.

07:26Prymouth is healthy on the front of his rookie deal.

07:28But what they have to do, Scott, is they have to add a receiver.

07:31That's the offense.

07:32They've got to do something by the start of the season.

07:35I'm told with Roman Wilson, coming back from his ankle injury, there's optimism that he'll

07:39start practicing with the next 7-10 days coming off that ankle injury.

07:42But defensive Scott, excellent front seven.

07:46Peyton Wilson, the rookie linebacker, he had a minor injury today.

07:49He's fine, as I understand it.

07:52But bottom line is, Scott, they're going to have to look at the cornerback position.

07:56Not very good depth.

07:58They're good with the two starters, with Joey Porter Jr. and Dante Jackson.

08:02Nickel corner, they're still trying to figure that out.

08:04They don't have very good depth at outside corner.

08:06Those will be the concerns.

08:07But this is a good team, but still a lot of questions.

08:11Backup corner, Nickel, and wide receiver opposite the very talented George Pick.

08:17Well, I just don't see the IUC deal happening because they engaged, reengaged, still didn't

08:24get it done, offered no receiver, offering picks only.

08:28And when the Niners started talking to IUC again, don't you feel like they're going to

08:32get a deal with them in San Francisco?

08:35Yeah, because the Steelers are another old school team, man.

08:37I don't see them moving off of their stance.

08:39And I've said this for three months, I didn't really want to leave, but he just felt like

08:44they weren't negotiating in good faith.

08:46The Niners know that they need him.

08:48And by the way, Ricky Pearsall, their first round pick, is dealing with that shoulder

08:51injury. He's over the hamstring injury.

08:53So they'll continue to work on that.

08:56But at least IUC showed up to camp and that helps.

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