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The New York Jets have a huge problem on their hands. They made a trade to acquire star outside linebacker, Haason Reddick this year, but Reddick has been holding out in search of a bigger contract. While Reddick isn't being paid, this leaves a ton of value sitting on the sidelines for the Jets.
Reddick has requested a trade and it's becoming pretty apparent that he won't be playing until he is traded.
Rich Cimini and a few NFL analysts at ESPN put together a few mock trades for the Jets, but one stuck out as the most intriguing. Cimini pitched the idea of a three-team trade between the Jets, Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders that very well could work.
Here's the full trade in question:
If you're a bit confused, don't worry. I'm going to break down the trade from each team's perspective momentarily.
New York Jets trade grade: B
NYJ trades: OLB Haason Reddick, WR Allen Lazard, 2025 2nd round pick
NYJ receives: WR Davante Adams
From the perspective of pure value, the Jets are losing this trade. Without a doubt. Reddick and Lazard paired with a 2nd round pick provides much more value, trade wise, than just acquiring Davante Adams.
But from the perspective of a team that wants to win it all right now, this trade is a no-brainer. Adams and Aaron Rodgers are historically one of the best duos in NFL history. Pairing these two up again is exactly what the Jets need. They're losing Reddick, which sucks, but he hasn't given the team any value yet, so it's hard to really count him as a loss. Lazard isn't a loss, as Adams takes his place. Losing the second-round pick would hurt as well, but this deal increases their Super Bowl odds by a lot for this season, which is what matters to the Jets.
Kansas City Chiefs trade grade: C+
KC trades: DE George Karlaftis, 2025 5th round pick
KC receives: OLB Haason Reddick, 2025 6th round pick
George Karlaftis has the potential to be very good. He's just 23 years old and has already recorded nearly 20 sacks in his NFL career. Letting go of him would be quite a blow for the Kansas City Chiefs. Albeit, Reddick is the better defender as of now, but Karlaftis is six years younger and much cheaper.
This trade pushes the Chiefs in the right direction for the three peat that they're pushing for this season, but three years down the road, this would hurt them. When Reddick is 33 or 34 years old and fading, Karlaftis will only just be entering his prime years.
It fits Kansas City's idea of winning now, but I don't like the long term fall out of this deal from their perspective.
Las Vegas Raiders trade grade: A
LV trades: WR Davante Adams, 2025 6th round pick
LV receives: DE George Karlaftis, WR Allen Lazard, 2025 2nd round pick, 2025 5th round pick
The real winners of this trade are the Las Vegas Raiders. Davante Adams is going to rot away at the end of his career if he continues to spend it in a Raiders uniform. Las Vegas just isn't in the position to win now with their current quarterback position. Cursing Adams to end his career like this would be disrespectful to the football player that he is.
There's nowhere better to send him than the Jets, pairing him back up with Aaron Rodgers. In return, the Raiders get a decent wide receiver in Allen Lazard, but the rest of the trade is where they win.
Las Vegas adds two 2025 draft picks, one second and one fifth in this deal, boosting their draft capital quite a bit.
They add defensive end George Karlaftis, who could create one of the best pass rushing duos of this century with Maxx Crosby on the other side. Karlaftis is just 23 years old and his age pairs perfectly with the Raiders current rebuild.