In an NFL free agency period that saw multiple players cross over to a division rival, the Tennessee Titans scored a major coup in March by adding Calvin Ridley.
Many fans have since wondered how Tennessee managed to get the two-time 1,000-yard wide receiver to jump ship to Nashville, especially after starring for the rival Jacksonville Jaguars. General Manager Ran Carthon finally broke his silence on nabbing the former AFC South rival wideout on Tuesday.
Titans GM Describes Calvin Ridley Signing as ‘Pipe Dream’
Speaking with the Nashville media, Carthon revealed that Ridley was indeed a free agency priority for Tennessee.
“To actually have the opportunity to even consider him, it was something that we had as a part of our plan,” Carthon shared. “But in our mind, it was more of a pipe dream.”
Carthon described a scenario where he and the Titans front office began to ask if certain players like Ridley were affordable. But on Ridley, Carthon noted how it took several meetings inside the Titans’ office to figure out a plan to pursue Ridley.
“We came in the next morning…and everyone had that look of ‘let’s do it,'” Carthon said.
From pipe dream to reality, GM Ran Carthon on how the Titans landed @CalvinRidley1 and the ensuing chaos 😂 pic.twitter.com/iyy5L4Oeg2
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) April 2, 2024
Calvin Ridley’s Contract Details
Ultimately, Ridley’s contract wound up being worth $92 million over four years.
Here’s what else is involved in Ridley’s handsome Titans deal:
- Base salary: Ridley will start off with approximately $4.5 million for 2024, according to Spotrac. By 2025, that number will leap to nearly $22.5 million.
- Average salary: The veteran wideout will be earning $23 million annually through his Titans deal.
- Guaranteed money: The 29-year-old Ridley has $50 million in total guarantees. At the time of his signing, his fully guaranteed money amounts to $46.9 million.
- Signing bonus: Ridley earned a $20 million bonus at signing, which is prorated over the life of the deal on the team’s salary cap.
If he plays out his contract, Ridley won’t become a free agent until 2028, when he reaches the age of 34. The team could feasibly cut him following the 2025 season — which would cost $10 million in dead cap money for the Titans. After placing his signature on Tennessee’s contract offer, Ridley is the NFL’s 10th highest-paid wide receiver ahead of the 2024 season.
Yet in looking ahead to the ’24 campaign, is Ridley officially Tennessee’s WR1?
Titans’ Depth Chart at Wide Receiver
Ridley is the second-most experienced NFL wideout in this Titans WR room.
The oldest is perennial Pro Bowler De’Andre Hopkins, who, like Ridley, also played for a past rival of Tennessee in the Houston Texans. Except, for the 11-year veteran Hopkins, he was a 2023 addition to the Titans following his release by the Arizona Cardinals. Ridley will likely aim to form a valuable tandem with the five-time Pro Bowler, who led Tennessee in all three major receiving categories — receptions (75), receiving yards (1,057), and touchdowns (seven) — last season.
The next-most-seasoned NFL WR in Nashville is Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, a five-year veteran who’s played every season of his career in Tennessee. He caught 28 passes for 370 yards and scored three times in ’23.
Tennessee then has a pair of three-year veterans, Kyle Phillips and Treylon Burks, on the depth chart. The latter, a 2022 first-round pick taken 18th overall by the Titans in the 2022 NFL Draft, caught 16 receptions for 221 yards in nine starts last season. Phillips, a former UCLA Bruin, was drafted in the fifth round of the same class and snatched 15 passes for 181 yards in 2023.
KEEP READING: Ranking the Remaining 2024 NFL Free Agents
Rounding out the rest of the WR room in Tennessee are Tre’Shaun Harrison, Mason Kinsey, Kearis Jackson, and Colton Dowell. Kinsey and Dowell both caught one pass last season. Kinsey is currently on his second stint in Nashville after signing an undrafted free agent deal in April 2020 out of Berry College.
