PHILADELPHIA – Who says you can’t go home?
The Philadelphia Eagles and Haason Reddick must agree with Jon Bon Jovi.
And Eagles fans couldn’t be happier that the edge rusher returned to the area he grew up in, the city he attended college and where he started his journey from college walk-on at Temple to a 2022 All-Pro who led the Eagles in sacks (16.0, second in the NFL) during the regular season.
“This right here is crazy,” Reddick said in the locker room with an “NFC Champions” cap on his head. “They got to put this in a movie. This is a script. I’m telling you this is a script.”
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Reddick recorded two sacks, his second straight game these playoffs with more than one sack, and had a hand in two of the three turnovers the Eagles forced in a 31-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game. Now the Haddon Heights, New Jersey, native will play in the Super Bowl for his hometown team.
Eagles linebacker Kyzir White, whose locker is next to Reddick’s, is also a local native (but grew up on the other side of the Delaware River in Pennsylvania) and has also enjoyed his own homecoming. He called Reddick the “DPOY” – as in, Defensive Player of the Year.
“Best defensive player in the game,” White told USA TODAY Sports. “It ain’t close. I know he humble, laid-back, quiet. He the best doing it. Now it’s time for people to put some respect on his name.”
In 2022, Reddick became the first player to post double-digit sacks in three straight seasons with three different teams. The Arizona Cardinals, the team that drafted him 13th overall in 2017, declined his fifth-year option prior to the 2020 campaign. Reddick responded by posting 12.5 sacks. Last season, on a one-year prove-it deal with the Carolina Panthers (where Reddick reunited with college coach Matt Rhule), he posted 11.
The Eagles signed Reddick to a three-year, $45 million deal during the offseason. Haddon Heights Jr-Sr High School is less than a 10-mile drive over the Walt Whitman Bridge.
“I couldn’t have imagined this,” Reddick said. “Coming back home at that time, it was about playing for the hometown and being closer to family.”
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds, Reddick’s physique is unlike most other elite pass-rushers. But since 2020, no one has forced more fumbles in the league.
“He’s one of those guys when you look at the measurables, it’s not anything crazy,” said Eagles center Jason Kelce. “He’s a little bit undersized for an edge guy maybe. Not quite the tallest. Not quite the biggest. Not quite the fastest. But he’s got an incredible blend of all of that stuff combined with being just a savvy player.”
On Sunday, Reddick forced a fumble on Niners quarterback Brock Purdy, who also suffered an elbow injury on the play. Initially ruled incomplete, Reddick implored coach Nick Sirianni to challenge the play; replay review determined Reddick knocked the ball out before Purdy’s arm came forward.
“He’s a monster,” Eagles defensive lineman Javon Hargrave told USA TODAY Sports about Reddick.
“The way he practices, his attitude toward getting better,” fellow defensive lineman Josh Sweat said, “that’s what I see.”
Said White: “One of the hardest working people I know. Just relentless. He lives and breathes football. He just loves it.”
Although the Eagles did not capitalize off the turnover, Reddick made sure his team had another scoring chance before halftime by jumping on a fumbled snap that evaded backup quarterback Josh Johnson.
Through 19 games this season (including playoffs), Reddick now has 19.5 sacks. On top of posting 1.5 sacks against the New York Giants in the divisional round last week, his 3.5 sacks this postseason are the most by one Philadelphia player during a playoff run.
This is the same player who had no stars on the recruiting trail and whose mother, Raelakia, took out a loan to purchase a meal plan so he could eat with his college teammates. At Temple, Reddick morphed into a first-round pick. Upon his return to Philadelphia, Reddick reverted to his college number: 7.
“(I) knew that it was time to do the same thing that I did when I left Temple,” Reddick said.
At points during his pro career, Reddick – because of his size – had been moved to an inside linebacker spot. Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson said that was an obvious mistake.
“It’s crazy, when you put guys with what they did in college, how much more efficient they are,” said Johnson, who noted that Reddick’s production at all three of his professional stops is impressive.
For Reddick, proving people wrong is old hat.
“I went through that same type of stuff in college,” he said. “I walked on, had to prove myself, had to prove that I deserved to be on the field. It was the same thing.”
Eagles captain Brandon Graham was once the pass-rusher who would provide a jolt for the entire team with a key play. He knows his successor has arrived.
“You know what man? It’s all about passing the torch. And Haason is the guy. I love that. I don’t care who makes the play. Just make it.
“I’ll take the scraps while he goes out there and eats off the bone.”
And Reddick knows there’s nothing like a home-cooked meal.
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.
Story Credit: usatoday.com