Jets owner Woody Johnson, speaking on the day he fired head coach Robert Saleh and gave defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich the interim job, urged holdout Haason Reddick to come to the facility to work out his dispute and re-join the team.
“I hope that the young man can come to the team, we’d like to have Haason here, we’d welcome him with open arms,” Johnson said Tuesday afternoon during a conference call with reporters explaining his decision to fire Saleh.
The owner said he had not talked to Ulbrich about extending that offer to Reddick, but said he thinks the interim coach would feel the same way.
“When [Reddick] gets here, he’ll find a very welcome locker room, and he’ll be able to fit right in, but he’s gotta get here first,” Johnson said. “So, Haason, get in your car, drive down 95, and come to the New York Jets.
“We can meet you and give you an escort right into the building, and you'll fit right in, and you'll love it here, and you’re gonna feel welcome, and you’re gonna accomplish great things with us."
Reddick began his holdout in early June when he was a no-show for the first day of mandatory minicamp after coming to New York in a late March trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for a conditional draft pick.
When asked by a reporter for his take on why the situation hasn’t worked out, the owner said he would “rely on” the reporter for that information.
“That’s something I’ve never seen before,” Johnson said. “I don’t think any of us have seen anything like this.
“So, I think you have to be part psychologist and part some other -gist to try to figure out what is actually going on.”
In mid-September, SNY's Connor Hughes reported that there had been some conversations between Jets general manager Joe Douglas and Reddick’s agent Tory Dandy in the recent weeks, but from his understanding "nothing really came of them."
"There literally has not been any change since he skipped minicamp. It’s the exact same thing: Reddick will not report until he gets a new deal, but the Jets won’t negotiate a new deal until he shows up," Hughes wrote last month. "Neither side has been willing to budge, so, quite literally, nothing has changed."
After the trade, Reddick spoke glowingly about joining a very talented Jets defense.
"I'm happy to be around a group of guys like this, a talented roster such as this one," Reddick said in April. “It's gonna be fun, man. I don’t think anybody’s ready for what’s about to happen, but it’s gonna be fun and it’s gonna be fun to watch as well.”