Grade the trade proposal: Lions overpay to take Haason Reddick off Jets' hands

The Detroit Lions' pass rush performed well in Week 1 (two sacks, 27 pressures; according to Pro Football Focus), led by Aidan Hutchinson. (one sack, 11 pressures). Marcus Davenport had a good showing himself (six pressures), but now he is set to miss Week 2 with a groin injury.

Depending on Davenport to be healthy is a foolish exercise. Which isn't to say he'll miss a lot of time with this groin issue, but the Vikings probably thought the same thing about his ankle injury last year. The Lions could find themselves entering the market for another edge rusher at some point.

The New York Jets invited a problem when they traded for contract year edge rusher Haason Reddick without having an extension in place. He has not shown up for anything, and it appears he is dug in to sit out for a while longer. The Jets would surely love for someone to take this headache off their hands. Not that any teams will or should, knowing Reddick wants to be paid at the level he does.

Still, as ESPN's Jeremy Fowler has passed along the notion that teams expect the Jets to trade him in due time, mention of potential suitors for Reddick has re-surfaced (if it ever went away).

The 33rd Team and Bleacher Report both mentioned the Lions as a landing spot for Reddick after he sat out Week 1. It hasn't made much sense since very early in the offseason, and it still doesn't make sense for the Lions to really be interested in Reddick now.

Grade the trade proposal: Lions do flimsy deal for Haason Reddick

In concert with his mention of the Lions as a suitor for Reddick after Week 1, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report has offered up six hypothetical trade packages to allow the Jets to move on.

Here's what Knox had for the Lions.

Lions Get: Edge Haason Reddick
Jets Get: 2026 Third-Round Pick

The crutches of how much cap space the Lions currently have and how their Super Bowl window is open are common when mentioning them as a possible suitor for Reddick. Knox leaned into them.

"The Detroit Lions' Super Bowl window is open, and adding a pass-rusher like Reddick could help them tremendously."

"With $31.6 million in cap space available, the Lions could afford to turn a play for Reddick into a long-term investment."

The Jets sent a conditional 2026 third-round pick to the Eagles for Reddick, which could become a second-rounder if he reached playing time and production thresholds this season (10 sacks and 67.5 percent snap share, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport). The ship is all but gone out to sea now for that pick to become a second-rounder, so in Knox's proposal the Lions would given the Jets back their 2026 third-round pick.

When it comes down to it, the Jets have no leverage in any trade talks regarding Reddick. Why would the Lions, or any other team, recoup them the pick they gave up to get him? Even the league executives Fowler talked to don't think the Jets can get value similar to what they gave up.

Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports has a more palatable trade proposal for the Lions to get Reddick, sending a 2025 fifth-round pick and James Houston to the Jets.

But this is a grade of Knox's new proposal attaching the Lions to Reddick, and you know where this is going....

Grade the trade proposal: D