The Jets had a Haason Reddick-sized hole in their pass rush Monday night.
San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy faced little resistance in Monday night’s 32-19 beatdown, with the Jets tallying just one sack while Reddick continues his months-long holdout.
Jets coach Robert Saleh sidestepped a question Tuesday morning about his feelings now that the holdout has extended into the season and loomed large in the defeat, and it seems as if the Jets could again be without the former Eagles linebacker for their Week 2 road clash against the Titans (0-1).
“Regardless of how I feel about it, we’ve got the guys who are here. We’re excited to work with the guys who are here,” Saleh said on a conference call. “I’ll say it again: As soon as he walks through those doors, we’ll give him a big hug and give him a playbook and we can get rolling.”
It remains to be seen whether the Jets will be able to give Reddick a playbook for Week 2 with the star pass-rusher remaining the only player to stay away from his team before Week 1.
The Jets traded a conditional third-round pick to the Eagles to have Reddick essentially replace Bryce Huff, but right now, they just have a gaping hole on their defense.
Reddick wants an extension and is willing to take a financial hit in his standoff, accumulating around $5 million in fines for his absences and forfeiting approximately $800,000 for missing Monday’s game.
Saleh did not make it seem as if there is a resolution in sight.
While Reddick would not have helped the run game woes, he likely could have boosted a pass rush that did not place much pressure on Purdy.
Safety Tony Adams registered the only sack, although Saleh credited the 49ers for their strategy.
“I thought San Francisco did a really good job with their game plan with regards to chips on the ends and getting rid of the ball in a timely fashion,” Saleh said. “I don’t think Brock really held it long enough for us to really have any effect. We had some opportunities, couldn’t wrap him up and bring him down, but credit to them, they did a really nice job with getting the ball out of his hands.”