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Jets GM says the team won’t honor Haason Reddick’s trade request
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. | Haason Reddick’s holdout from the New York Jets has gotten ugly as it enters its third week.
Shortly after a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that the star edge rusher requested a trade Monday, Jets general manager Joe Douglas said the team has no intention of granting Reddick his wish.
“We have informed Haason that we will not trade him, that he is expected to be here with his teammates and that he will continue to be fined per the CBA if he does not report,” Douglas said in a statement issued by the Jets and shared on social media. “Since the trade discussions back in March, we have been clear, direct and consistent with our position.
“Our focus will remain on the guys we have here as we prepare for the regular season.”
A message left by the AP for Reddick’s representatives was not immediately returned.
Reddick was acquired by New York from Philadelphia in the offseason after asking to pursue a trade from the Eagles over his contract situation. He wanted a new deal then and the Eagles weren’t going to give him one.
And now the Jets are left with an unhappy Reddick, who’s now seeking a second trade in a six-month span — without having practiced with the Jets. NFL Network first reported Reddick’s latest request.
The 29-year-old Reddick was placed on the reserve/did not report list on July 25, the Jets’ second day of camp practice. The hope by the team was he would report to the facility so the sides could hash out the situation and the contract dispute would soon be resolved. Instead, it reached 21 days and now Reddick wants out.
Reddick has been absent all offseason since being acquired by the Jets for a 2026 conditional third-round draft pick. New York made the deal with the belief there would be no issues and Reddick would report under his current contract.
Something went woefully wrong since.
He’s scheduled to make $14.25 million in base salary in the final year of his deal. By missing the first three weeks of camp, Reddick is facing more than $1 million in mandatory fines. He also forfeited a $250,000 workout bonus for not attending the Jets’ offseason workouts. None of Reddick’s salary for this season is guaranteed.
During an introductory video call at the Jets’ facility on April 1, Reddick was eager to get started with his new team and wasn’t thinking about his contract situation.
“All options are open, but right now, currently, I’m just worried about being here, meeting everybody’s that in the building today,” Reddick said. “Contractual stuff, I’m leaving that up to my agent and Joe to figure out. Whatever happens, I’m going to be happy for and I’m going to give my all, no matter what. That’s just who I am as a person.
“So, no matter how it goes, how many years, I’m going to be here for however long I’m here for and I’m going to give the team, the fans everything that I have.”
Reddick was a first-round pick by Arizona in 2017 and has double-digit sacks in four straight seasons, including 27 during the past two years with the Eagles.
He was expected to boost the Jets’ pass rush after the team allowed Bryce Huff to leave in free agency and traded John Franklin-Myers to Denver. Micheal Clemons and Will McDonald are seeing increased snaps at defensive end opposite Jermaine Johnson in training camp, but New York will be hard pressed to match the sack production Reddick would be expected to provide.
Bills sign third-string
QB DiNucci, agency says
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. | The Buffalo Bills filled their need for a third-string quarterback by signing Ben DiNucci, the player’s agency JL Sports announced on social media on Monday.
The Bills have not yet announced the signing in part because they’ll have to make a corresponding move to free up a roster spot.
Earlier in the day, coach Sean McDermott said the team was considering adding a QB to replace Shane Buechele, who is out indefinitely with a neck injury.
McDermott did not reveal the nature of the injury in saying Buechele played through it after being hurt in Buffalo’s preseason-opening 33-6 loss to Chicago on Saturday. Adding a third QB was imperative because the Bills are limiting starter Josh Allen and backup Mitch Trubisky’s preseason playing time to avoid the risk of injuries.
Buechele finished the game after entering midway through the third quarter and went 6 of 10 for 53 yards, with an interception which linebacker Micah Baskerville returned 53 yards for a touchdown. Buechele was sacked six times and also had three carries for 22 yards.
The 27-year-old DiNucci was selected by Dallas in the seventh round of the 2020 draft after splitting his college career at Pittsburgh and James Madison. He went 23 of 43 for 219 yards in three NFL games — including one start, a loss — in his rookie year for the Cowboys.
DiNucci was released by Dallas before the start of the 2022 season, and spent last year with the Denver Broncos, before being released in May.
With Trubisky excused for personal reasons on Monday, Allen took all the team snaps in practice. Offensive quality control coach Kyle Shurmur pitched in to throw passes during individual passing drills. Shurmur, the son of former Browns and Giants coach Pat Shurmur, is a former college quarterback who spent time on several NFL team practice squads, the last being Washington in 2021.
Allen was limited to playing just the first quarter against Chicago, and it’s unclear how many more snaps he’ll get this preseason.
Buffalo is scheduled to hold a joint practice with the Steelers on Thursday before playing a preseason game at Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Bills close their preseason schedule by hosting Carolina on Aug. 24.
Receivers Mack Hollins (leg) and Justin Shorter (knee) and running back Ty Johnson (hamstring) returned to practice after missing much of last week.
Safeties Mike Edwards (hamstring) and Cole Bishop (shoulder), receiver Chase Claypool (toe) and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (groin) all remain sidelined.
Dodgers activate Mookie Betts from injured list series with Brewers
MILWAUKEE | Mookie Betts is back with the Los Angeles Dodgers after missing nearly two months with a broken left hand.
The Dodgers announced before their Monday night game with the Milwaukee Brewers that they had activated the eight-time All-Star and 2018 AL MVP from the injured list. The Dodgers’ starting lineup had Betts batting second and playing right field.
Los Angeles made room for him by designating utilityman Amed Rosario for assignment.
Betts, who turns 32 on Oct. 7, was batting .304 with a .405 on-base percentage, 10 homers, 40 RBIs and nine steals in 72 games when he went on the injured list June 17. Betts suffered the injury when he was hit by a 97.9 mph fastball from Kansas City Royals reliever Dan Altavilla on June 16.
Although Betts was primarily playing shortstop and batting leadoff before his injury, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said last week that the team would move him to right field and have him bat second upon his return.
That move would enable two-time AL MVP Shohei Ohtani to remain in the leadoff spot, where he has hit extremely well since Betts’ injury.
Rosario, 28, had batted .273 with a .333 on-base percentage, no homers, two RBIs and one steal in five games since the Dodgers acquired him from Tampa Bay last month for minor league pitcher Michael Flynn.
Rosario had hit .307 with a .331 on-base percentage, two homers, 26 RBIs and nine steals in 76 games with Tampa Bay.
Jarren Duran suspended two games by Red Sox for shouting slur at fan
BOSTON | The Boston Red Sox suspended Jarren Duran for two games on Monday without pay after he shouted a homophobic slur to a fan behind home plate who heckled him in a loss to the Houston Astros a day earlier.
The exchange that was caught on a live mic during the broadcast of the game occurred when Duran — who was 0 for 2 with two strikeouts at that point in the game — was at the plate in the sixth inning. A fan at Fenway Park can be heard shouting “Tennis racket! Tennis racket! You need a tennis racket!”
Duran turned his head toward the fan and replied: “Shut up,” followed by a curse word and the slur.
Duran issued an apology through the team Sunday night and again in the clubhouse Monday, saying he “used a truly horrific word” and felt “awful.”
The Red Sox said in a statement that Duran’s salary during the suspension would be donated to PFLAG (Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).
The exchange with the fan came after Duran was honored during a pregame ceremony as the team’s recipient of the Heart and Hustle Award, which recognizes one player per team who “demonstrates a passion for the game and best embodies its values, spirit, and traditions.”
Rams decide to
hold another joint practice with Cowboys
LOS ANGELES | The Los Angeles Rams will have a joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday instead of the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Rams announced the switch because the round-trip commute from their facility at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California, to the Cowboys’ practice in Oxnard is shorter than going to the Chargers facility in El Segundo.
The Rams have temporarily returned to California Lutheran because work on their new site in Woodland Hills has not been completed. The Rams eventually will build a permanent complex in Woodland Hills, but will again be in temporary facilities until its completion.
It will be the third time in seven days the Cowboys and Rams will face each other. The two teams had a joint practice in Oxnard on Aug. 8 and then met in the preseason opener on Sunday, when the Rams rallied for a 13-12 victory. Most of the starters, including Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and Dallas’ Dak Prescott, did not play in the game.
The Chargers and Rams had a joint practice in El Segundo on Aug. 4, but that was while the Rams were still holding training camp nearby at Loyola Marymount University. The two Los Angeles teams will meet in the second preseason game on Saturday.
—From AP reports
