PHILADELPHIA − Haason Reddick leads the Eagles in sacks with 12, his third straight season with at least 11, and he’s the first player in NFL history to do that on three different teams.
Yet Reddick, the South Jersey native who also starred at Temple, had never been selected to the Pro Bowl − until Wednesday.
Reddick was one of eight Eagles named to the Pro Bowl, which this year is a skills contest and flag football game. The others are quarterback Jalen Hurts (1st selection), running back Miles Sanders (1st), guard Landon Dickerson (1st), wide receiver A.J. Brown (2nd), right tackle Lane Johnson (4th), cornerback Darius Slay (5th) and center Jason Kelce (6th).
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“It would mean recognition to finally be there, a small step in the process,” Reddick said. “It’d be good. We’ll see what happens and go from there.”
Reddick is about so much more than sacks. That was evident in the Eagles’ 25-20 win over the Bears last Sunday. Reddick twice sacked Bears quarterback Justin Fields. He probably should have had two more.
On one play, Reddick twice spun past a Bears offensive lineman and was knocked to his knees. Then Reddick got up cat-like, reached out and corralled Fields around his upper torso. Fields escaped and ran for 39 yards.
It’s open to debate which part of that play was more impressive.
“That shows you how athletic he is,” Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said. “That boy out there is like a little Mighty Mouse. He’s strong, too. It’s just been fun because he’s been helping us win in a big way.”
It’s hard to picture Reddick as a “Mighty Mouse.” For an edge rusher, he is rather undersized at 6-foot-1, 240 pounds.
But his speed and athleticism make up for his size. Against the Bears, Reddick forced a fumble and recovered a fumble. Perhaps most impressively, Reddick nearly intercepted a pass when he dropped back into coverage.
Fields tried to hit wide receiver Dante Pettis inside the Eagles’ 20 yard line in the second quarter, with the Eagles trailing 6-3. Reddick dropped into coverage and leaped for the ball, which deflected off his hands and fell incomplete.
On third down, Reddick sacked Fields, backing the Bears up to the 31. The Bears punted due to the blustery conditions.
“That’s a hard play for him,” defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said about dropping into coverage. “He understood where he had to get to on that particular play … He was in the right spot and almost picked it off.”
That ability is why the Eagles gave Reddick a three-year deal worth as much as $45 million last spring. Reddick spent the 2021 season with the Carolina Panthers (11 sacks) after having 12.5 sacks in 2020, his last of four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.
“I can’t sit here and say it’s the scheme,” Reddick said. “I’ve done it in three different schemes.”
And now he’s in the Pro Bowl.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
