Jaguars & WR Calvin Ridley Won’t Negotiate Extension During Season

According to Adam Schefter, the Jaguars and WR Calvin Ridley plan to wait until after the season to begin potential contract discussions. 

Ridley had exactly the kind of impact in Week 1 that the Jaguars were hoping for when they traded for him at the deadline last season while he was still serving his suspension for gambling. He was the clear No. 1 receiver for QB Trevor Lawrence and topped 100 yards receiving. 

Schefter notes Ridley has already met one condition of the trade by playing in a game for Jacksonville, who will send at least a fourth-round pick to the Falcons. If Ridley plays 60 percent of the snaps or hits either 75 receptions or 1,000 receiving yards, the pick becomes a third-rounder. 

Should the Jaguars sign Ridley to a new deal this offseason, they would send the Falcons a second-round pick for Ridley. 

If Ridley looks as good as he did last week, an extension seems like it would be a no-brainer despite that cost. Those talks could be tricky, however, given Ridley is still on his rookie contract and will turn 29 before the 2024 season. 

Jacksonville would also have the franchise tag available to use on Ridley. 

Ridley, 28, is a former first-round pick of the Falcons back in 2018 out of Alabama. He played out the fourth year of his four-year, $10,900,732 contract that included a $6,007,804 signing bonus.

The Falcons exercised Ridley’s fifth-year option which was scheduled to cost Atlanta $11.116 million fully guaranteed in 2022. However, it was tolled a year following his suspension for gambling. The Jaguars acquired the deal as a part of their trade for Ridley at the deadline in 2022. 

In 2023, Ridley has appeared in one game for the Jaguars and caught eight passes on 11 targets for 101 yards receiving and one touchdown. 

We’ll have more on the Jaguars and Ridley as the news is available.