Latest On Calvin Ridley

John Shipley compiled all of today’s reports about Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley, then added some of his own insight from discussions with sources. 

Shipley says while Ridley is getting significant interest from both the Patriots and the Jaguars, his market overall was not as strong as he hoped. Teams were reluctant to go too high for Ridley given he’s turning 30 in December. The Panthers and Texans both did homework on signing Ridley but don’t appear to be seriously in the mix. 

Another factor is the upcoming class of receivers is viewed as strong at the top and deep throughout, which is impacting the willingness of teams to spend a lot in free agency. 

Shipley notes both the Patriots and Jaguars have numbers they’re not willing to go over to sign Ridley right now. His source says if the contract offers are close, Ridley’s preference is to return to the Jaguars. 

Shipley adds it does seem like the Jaguars feel their offer is competitive and they are optimistic about re-signing Ridley. 

Another factor in the delay is if the Jaguars wait to sign Ridley until after the start of the new league year on Wednesday at 4 pm EST, the pick they give to the Falcons remains a third, not a second. 

Ridley, 29, 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. 

He’s set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024. 

In 2023, Ridley appeared in 17 games for the Jaguars and caught 76 passes for 1,016 yards receiving and eight touchdowns. 

We have him included in our Top 100 – 2024 NFL Free Agents list.