The 49ers finished the last of their offseason business Tuesday in advance of their season opener against the Jets.
Now it’s the Jets’ turn.
The 49ers were finalizing a contract extension with their Hall of Fame-bound left tackle, Trent Williams, ending his summer-long holdout. This came just days after they agreed to a new contract with their star receiver, Brandon Aiyuk, who ended his holdout after receiving a reported four-year, $120 million deal.
These are two critical pieces to the 49ers puzzle as they prepare to face the Jets Monday night at Levi’s Stadium to begin their bid to reach the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season.
The signings of Williams and Aiyuk not only strengthen the 49ers for their home opener against the vastly improved Jets, but they also leave the Jets as the lone NFL team with a contract holdout.
Yes, the enigmatic Haason Reddick saga maddeningly carries on for the Jets, and it needs to be resolved in time for the star pass rusher to get onto the field for Thursday’s practice ahead of the San Francisco trip.
Everyone knows the Jets are all-in for 2024 with 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers healthy and the window of opportunity realistically open for only a year or two.
At all-in, the Jets need to be playing with a full deck of cards. And without the 29-year-old Reddick, whom the Jets acquired from the Eagles in March for a conditional 2026 third-round draft pick, they aren’t playing with a full deck.
The Jets are fooling themselves — and trying to do the same to their fans — if they think their defense is just fine without Reddick, who’s recorded 50.5 sacks in the past four seasons.
They let pass rush specialist Bryce Huff go via free agency after he recorded 10 sacks and 21 quarterback hits (both team highs) in 2023. And they traded John Franklin-Myers to Denver after he produced 3.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hits.
Without Reddick, those numbers are essentially being replaced by Will McDonald and Micheal Clemons. McDonald had three sacks and five quarterback hits last season and Clemons had a half sack and one quarterback hit.
This isn’t good enough — regardless of how often Jets coach Robert Saleh publicly professes how “confident’’ he is in the two unproven players tasked with replacing the potential Reddick production.
Asked Tuesday if there’s a deadline in terms of Reddick getting to practice and being able to play Monday, Saleh said, “It’s going to be all dependent on how he looks if and when he shows up. We’ll put him through some work with the training staff, see where he’s at and then communicate with him and on what we can figure out.’’
This Reddick mess is on general manager Joe Douglas, who should have had this figured out already. Douglas made the trade. He had a big part in deciding not to re-sign Huff.
Reddick’s camp last month leaked his desire for the Jets to trade him. Douglas, who makes himself available about as often as most team owners do (which is not very often), responded with a rare public statement vowing that the team won’t trade him.
Bottom line: Douglas should never have executed that trade without a deal already in place.
In the meantime, while Reddick’s absence continues to weaken the Jets defense, the 49ers fortified their offense by getting Williams and Aiyuk back on the field.
None of these events will help the Jets take on the defending NFC champions Monday night, when they sure could use Reddick pass rushing on Williams.
Asked if he expected Williams to play Monday night, Saleh said, “There was never an expectation that he wasn’t going to play. We’ve been preparing as if he’s going to be there since Day One.’’
Added Jets veteran right tackle Morgan Moses, who knows a thing or two about the position and the way Williams plays it: “You’re talking about a guy that can possibly go down as the best tackle to ever play this game. Obviously, people around [the 49ers] knew they wouldn’t play a game without him.’’
Just as the Jets should make it their business to not play a game without Reddick.
Saleh on Tuesday insisted “there’s no disappointment’’ in not having Reddick on the field. Asked if getting Reddick back would be a “bonus’’ to his defense that’s been working all summer without him, Saleh said, “Yeah. I mean, it’s like finding change in the couch, I guess, right? He’s a special football player and when he eventually gets here, he’s only going to help us.’’
Hopefully for the Jets sake, “eventually’’ is this week.
