Three years into his NFL career, it didn't seem like Haason Reddick was going to pan out.The Cardinals' first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft wasn't properly adjusting to his inside linebacker position during his third season. Arizona eventually had to bench him in favor of fellow 2017 draftee Joe Walker as Reddick struggled immensely in coverage.Indeed, it looked like Reddick was going to be a bust, especially after the Cardinals declined his fifth-year option.Instead, he found a way to revive his career.Reddick returned to playing the edge rush position he had occupied during his college days, and that allowed him to find succe s at the NFL level.But how exactly did that happen, and why did the Cardinals move him away from that position in the first place? Here's a rundown of Reddick's time with the Cardinals and how he has risen to prominence as a key cog on the Eagles' Super Bowl defense.SUPER BOWL PICKS: | Haason Reddick was selected with the 13th overall pick in Dallas Mavericks Hats the 2017 NFL Draft by the Cardinals. Arizona was looking to improve its linebacker corps at the time, and the team believed that Reddick would be a good fit for what they were trying to do.What exactly was that? Then-general manager Steve Keim explained it was all about Reddick's versatility."We've talked before that what we try to do with our defense is build hybrid players who scheme fit into different spots," Keim said, per . "This guy can play inside, he can play outside He's explosive. He's got a great first step."Then-coach Bruce Arians shared thoughts similar to Keim when discu sing the selection."We love two-for-one players," Arians said of Reddick. "When we get a guy who can play two positions equally great, that's a Dirk Nowitzki Jersey great situation for us He will have a huge impact in a lot of different positions. He gives us tremendous flexibility in our sub defense."That said, though the duo believed in Reddick's versatility, they also believed that he would be best suited to being an inside linebacker. He had mostly played on the edge at Temple, but there were concerns about how his 6-1, 235-pound frame would hold up as a full-time pa s rusher.The move to inside linebacker would allow also allow the team to take advantage of Reddick's explosivene s and utilize him in a variety of ways as opposed to solely rushing the pa ser.Arizona's approach was understandable in theory. However, they didn't quite work out as the team had hoped.SUPER BOWL: The Cardinals used Reddick as a true hybrid player during his first NFL season. He began the campaign playing inside linebacker but moved more to the outside linebacker spot after an early-season injury to Markus Golden. He was solid in a limited role there.However, Reddick's playing time on the edge evaporated in 2018 and 2019. By that point, the Cardinals believed that Reddick was comfortable enough on the inside to make it his primary position. As such, he played most of his snaps in the box as a linebacker during his second and third seasons.YearD-Line snap %LBsnap %Secondary snap %20175738.34.720181574.110.9201919.968.611.5Reddick struggled to develop at the linebacker spot which didn't suit his natural skill set. He lost his starting job early in the 2019 season as a result of his struggles in coverageand the Cardinals opted not to pick up his fifth-year option because of that.As such, Reddick entered 2020 knowing he would be a free agent following the season. He also knew if something didn't change, he would not be a hot commodity.So, what did Reddick do? He decided to request that the Cardinals move him back to his more natural edge James Johnson Jersey rusher position at outside linebacker."I feel like if I dont do this, if I dont ask them to put me back, itll be no more NFL, no more football, or Ill just be (with the) special teamers," of his mindset at the time.Eventually, the Cardinals listened to Reddick's plea and moved him back to the outside in 2020. The move revitalized Reddick's career.MORE: The Cardinals move Reddick back to the edge early in the 2020 season out of nece sity. The team's star pa s rusher Chandler Jones suffered a season-ending injury after five games, so Reddick was moved to the position to add depth.He did a lot more than just Maxi Kleber Jersey that.Reddick thrived in his new role in Arizona, getting two sacks in his first start replacing Jones and racking up 12.5 total on the year with a whopping six forced fumbles. He achieved those career-best marks while playing 90 percent of his snaps on the defensive line. Comparatively, he had logged just 7.5 sacks combined during his first three seasons while largely playing inside linebacker.Indeed, it appeared that the Cardinals' initial experiment was a mistake. At the very least, Reddick believes that playing him at inside linebacker was a di service to himself and the team, as he explained to The Athletic."I have so many tools to my advantage that allowed me to be great at what I do," Reddick said. "Definitely shouldnt try to put me in a (designated) position."SPORTING NEWS AWARDS: Reddick believed he had proven himself after his breakout year with the Cardinals, but he happened to hit NFL free agency at the wrong time. He became available in March of 2021, just after the league announced that its salary cap for the 2021 season came in lower than expected due to pandemic-related revenue shortfalls.As such, fewer teams had money to spend during the 2021 offseason. That led Reddick to sign a one-year deal in the hopes of landing a longer-term contract during the 2022 offseason.That one-year deal was with the Panthers, who at the time employed his coach at Temple, Matt Rhule. The Panthers used Reddick as an edge rusher and he proved that his 2020 succe s was no fluke; he racked up 11 sacks, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Jersey 12 TFL and two forced fumbles, which raised his value as he entered free agency for the second time in as many years.The Eagles then honed in on Reddick as they looked to further upgrade their already solid pa s rush. They believed that he was a natural fit for their defense, fit the team's culture and could provide versatility while playing on the edge, as defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon explained."He affects the game. He makes big-time plays," Gannon told The Athletic. "He has a unique skill set. We use him different ways. Even if he doesnt show up on the stat sheet, we deploy him in a way that creates good matchups for other people, so hes always helping us win the game. Hes one that Im in his ear about different things, and hes got really good ideas and we use a lot of them."Reddick's transition to the Eagles was seamle s. He ended up being the team's top pa s rusher and led them in sacks with 16 during the regular season. He also forced five fumbles, which was good for the league lead.Reddick helped take the Eagles' defense to the next level in a