Haason Reddick hasn’t missed a game in his first six seasons, so the Pro Bowl edge rusher won’t let thumb surgery keep him off the field.
Reddick will line up Sunday and go after Mac Jones when the Philadelphia Eagles visit the New England Patriots. The second-team All-Pro is aiming to build off a season in which he had a career-high 16 sacks plus 3 1/2 more in the playoffs.
“I remember when I first came into the league listening to some of the older guys saying that availability is a skill,” Reddick said on the AP Pro Football Podcast. “The ability to be able to be on a football field because of what kind of sport it is, how many people get injured, the ability to be on the field is a skill. So that’s something that I take pride in.”
Reddick specializes in making life miserable for opposing quarterbacks. He’s had at least 11 sacks in each of the last three seasons after totaling just 8 1/2 in his first three in Arizona, which selected him in the first round of the 2017 draft.
Reddick, who played at Temple and grew up in southern New Jersey just outside Philadelphia, flourished in his first season with his hometown team. Reddick was part of a defense that had 70 sacks, including four players in double digits.
That stingy defense plus an explosive offense led by Jalen Hurts helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl.
“To have the type of year that we had my first year back home, the energy, the love, the excitement, the whole atmosphere of the city, it was beyond whatever I could imagine,” Reddick said. “It’s going to be hard (to follow it up) but I’m someone who takes pride in continuing progress where I continue to raise the bar and raise the ladder.”
Despite losing defensive tackle Javon Hargrave in free agency, the Eagles still have a star-studded defensive line. Ends Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat each had 11 sacks last year. Tackle Fletcher Cox is a six-time Pro Bowl pick. Jordan Davis and rookie Jalen Carter — back-to-back first-round picks from Georgia — are being counted on to help fill Hargrave’s void. Georgia first-round pick rookie Nolan Smith and Derek Barnett make it a deep unit.
They all get to sharpen their skills going against Philadelphia’s offensive line that features All-Pros Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson, plus Pro Bowler Landon Dickerson and Jordan Mailata.
“We’re seeing the best offensive line,” Reddick said. “It might sound like a cliche to say iron sharpens iron, but we’re going out there, we’re pushing each other.”
GIANTS: New tight end Darren Waller has a hamstring injury and is questionable for Sunday night’s opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
Waller, 30, was a new name on Friday’s final injury report. He was limited in Friday’s practice and is questionable entering the team’s prime-time opener.
PACKERS: Green Bay wide receiver Christian Watson won’t play in Sunday’s opener at Chicago while dealing with a hamstring injury.
The Packers’ injury report Friday ruled Watson out for the Bears game and listed wide receiver Romeo Doubs as questionable.
Watson’s absence means Green Bay won’t have its top returning receiver when Jordan Love begins his first season as the Packers’ starting quarterback.
BROWNS: Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward cleared concussion protocol and will start Sunday’s opener against Cincinnati, giving Cleveland its top coverage defender as it tries to slow quarterback Joe Burrow and his trio of receivers.
Ward had been sidelined with his fourth reported concussion in the NFL. He got hurt in an Aug. 26 exhibition in Kansas City and was limited to some individual drills earlier this week before fully practicing Friday.
RAIDERS: Defensive end Chandler Jones is not expected to play in Sunday’s season opener at Denver, according to Coach Josh McDaniels.
Jones hasn’t been in the Raiders’ facility this week. He twice posted disparaging remarks on social media about Raiders management before removing them.
PANTHERS: Carolina still doesn’t know if top pass rusher Brian Burns plans to play Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
The two-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker participated in his third straight practice Friday, but it’s unclear if he will actually play with his contract situation still unsettled. Burns is in the final year of his rookie contract and is due $16 million this season, but he’s seeking a large contract extension.
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