Haason Reddick will make his 2024 season debut with the Jets on Sunday at the New England Patriots, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said on Friday.
“He had a good week of work with us,” Ulbrich said of the defensive end. “He’s just such an experienced guy he’s been in so many systems, to pick up ours was not super difficult for him. Did a good job with that, really put the extra time in to learn it.
“Physically he looked good out there, excited about what he’ll contribute to our rush group.”
Ulbrich said there is no snap-count limit for Reddick, who missed the first seven games of the season as part of a holdout and contract dispute, but they will “play it by ear.”
“He feels like he’s in good shape, although he hasn’t been doing a whole lot of football stuff in a football capacity, he’s been doing a lot of position-specific stuff with pass-rush specialists and he’s been doing conditioning and lifting obviously.
“We’ll just kinda play it by ear, I think a big part of that is just kinda observing him on gameday and see what he’s capable of doing.”
When asked about past criticism of Reddick from his time in Philadelphia of selling out to get a sack and being susceptible to not maintaining his responsibilities on runs, Ulbrich said he is giving the edge rusher a “clean slate” as he starts his time with the Jets.
“This week he’s done a tremendous job of playing the run, setting edges, arm overing back, getting to the ball,” Ulbrich said. “He did not show that at all this week in prep, so that’s what I’m judging him based on, his time here. And he’s done an excellent job so far, definitely in practice, he did.”
Impact of Davante Adams’ speech
After the wide receiver played his first game with the Jets just days after arriving in a trade with Las Vegas, the veteran gave a speech that got the attention of his teammates and the head coach.
Ulbrich said that Adams’ speech referenced energy and the need to focus on identifying what the problems are before they can fix them.
“And there was an element, I really felt, in this team of trying too hard,” the head coach said. “And as we know that can be just as dangerous as not trying hard enough. So, it’s that balance of really experiencing the joy and the happiness of the game and the preparation for the game, but at the same time being super detailed. So we tried to create a better balance this week.
“It definitely showed in practice. Guys not only on their details, not only working their butts off and giving everything they had but at the same time enjoying the process a little bit more.”
Ulbrich said the Jets can’t let the events of a game affect their energy, which happened in the loss at Pittsburgh and they have preached this week that adversity is “an opportunity for us to react the way that we want to react.”
Overall, Ulbrich called it “one of the better weeks that I’ve had around here from a preparation standpoint.”
“I thought the energy was excellent, the focus was excellent,” he said. “The guys are in a great place from that standpoint and we’re ready to play this Sunday.”
In the speech, Adams said it was obvious that a “lack of energy and urgency out there and it was apparent.” Ulbrich said that while Adams is still a newcomer to the group, his speech shining a light on the energy was a big factor.
“I think we’ve identified why [the energy] wasn’t right and we’ve fixed it,” he said. “I felt like this week, it was the team that we need to be going forward.
“So excited about reinventing ourselves in a way.”
Injury Report: Good news, bad news
Ulbrich ruled guard Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle), safety Ashtyn Davis (concussion protocol) and defensive tackle Leki Fotu (knee) out.
Safety Tony Adams (hamstring) is a game-time decision, with the head coach labeling him as “doubtful” for the moment, but they will still assess him and “still got some time here.” Wide receiver Allen Lazard (chest) is “in the same kinda boat” as Adams.
But there was plenty of good news. Right tackle Morgan Moses (knee) was a limited participant in practice all week and will be questionable, but is “trending in the right direction.” Left tackle Tyron Smith had his normal vet rest days in practice, before being a full participant on Friday and will play.
Tight ends Tyler Conklin (hip) is “no worse for the wear” and Kenny Yeboah (abdomen) has returned to practice opening his 21-day window for coming off IR, but will not be activated for Sunday.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, dealing with lower-body issues of knee and hamstring, will play, as expected.
On defense, linebacker Quincy Williams (neck) was “fully cleared now, ready to rock and roll” and defensive end Will McDonald (shoulder) will play.
The biggest boost for Gang Green will be in the secondary as Michael Carter II (back) is set to return to action after missing the last two weeks, “excited about that,” Ulbrich added. Along with DJ Reed (groin) being a full participant, the Jets will have their top three corners in the lineup.
