While Calvin Ridley was thought to be deciding between re-signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars or joining the New England Patriots, the veteran wide receiver ultimately landed what had been described as a “mystery team” — which turned out to be the Tennessee Titans.
Titans Sign Former Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley
The Titans made a significant offer to entice Ridley to leave Jacksonville.
Ridley will sign a four-year, $90 million contract that includes $50 million fully guaranteed, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Once the ink is dry, he’ll become the 10th-highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. Ridley’s $23 million average annual value (AAV) will slot in just behind that of Michael Pittman Jr., who inked a three-year, $70 million extension ($23.3 million AAV) with the Indianapolis Colts this week.
Ridley, 29, became the top wide receiver on the 2024 free agent market after fellow pass catchers Tee Higgins, Pittman, and Mike Evans were retained by their respective clubs.
The former first-round pick began his career with the Atlanta Falcons, topping 800 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons before breaking out with a second-team All-Pro performance — 90-1,374-9 — in 2020.
Ridley’s career was disrupted in 2021. In Oct. of that year, Ridley announced he was stepping away from the NFL to focus on his mental health. Five months later, the NFL announced that Ridley would be suspended indefinitely for betting on games during the 2021 campaign.
The Falcons traded Ridley to the Jaguars in Nov. 2022 while he was still on the suspended list. Jacksonville gave up a 2023 fifth-round pick and a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick that was ultimately upgraded to a third-rounder based on Ridley’s playing time.
Ridley might not have been the WR1 the Jaguars hoped for when they acquired him, but he still put up the second-best receiving line (76-1,016-8) of his career.
By adding Ridley, the Titans will continue to build around second-year quarterback Will Levis. Tennessee signed veteran pass catcher DeAndre Hopkins last offseason, who will now team with Ridley and 2022 first-round pick Treylon Burks in a revamped wide receiving corps.
The Titans have been uber-active in free agency, bolstering their offense by inking RB Tony Pollard and center Lloyd Cushenbery while signing LB Kenneth Murray and CB Chidobe Awuzie to solidify the defensive side of the ball.
Fantasy Impact of Titans Signing Calvin Ridley
This move is intriguing for Ridley’s fantasy value. Last year, he finished as the WR18 overall in PPR scoring and WR27 in points per game. Matching those numbers with a downgrade in QB could be challenging. Can Ridley match his 2023 volume in 2023?
The problem is that the Titans are a complete wild card, given their head coaching change. Last year, their second-leading pass catcher was TE Chig Okonkwo with 77 targets, and their second-highest WR was Nick Westbrook-Ikhine with 45 targets. However, that team threw the ball at the third-lowest rate in the NFL. That could change under Brian Callahan.
The Cincinnati Bengals, Callahan’s former team, gave Tyler Boyd 98 targets and Tee Higgins 76 targets in just 12 games. That offense threw the ball 615 times, the seventh-highest number in the league.
KEEP READING: Why Patriots Shouldn’t Lose Sleep After Calvin Ridley Signs With Titans
Ridley has a chance to see around 100 targets this year, but that feels like a cap unless Hopkins gets hurt. Ridley could still be a flex option for fantasy managers, but expecting a repeat of his top-20 finish last year would be optimistic.
— PFN Fantasy Deputy Editor Ben Rolfe
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