Shocker: Calvin Ridley goes to the Titans, Patriots miss out
The Tennessee Titans made a big splash in free agency on Wednesday afternoon, signing star wide receiver Calvin Ridley to a four-year deal. The deal is worth $92 million, with $50 million fully guaranteed, according to NFL Networks' Ian Rapaport.
Ridley was considered the top wide receiver on the free agent market. Last season, he amassed 1,016 yards on 136 catches (76 targets) and eight touchdowns with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ridley started in all 17 games after missing 2022 due to a suspension.
The former first-round pick was suspended for the entire 2022 season for violating the NFL’s gambling policy. After being reinstated, he owned up to his mistakes in an article in the Players’ Tribune.
"I f---ed up," Ridley wrote. "I'm not here to sugarcoat anything. In 2021, I made the worst mistake of my life by gambling on football.
"I paid the price, believe me. I've seen all the jokes. I've seen all the hate. And I can shoulder all of that, no problem. All I want is for people to understand that, when I made those bets, there was a hell of a lot more going on with me."
The 28-year old got a strong offer from the New England Patriots according to Mark Daniels of MassLive. Ridley would have been the Patriots best receiving target since Julian Edelman and Jakobi Meyers in 2021.
Defacto general manager Eliot Wolf spoke about changing the Patriots offense and overall philosophy during the NFL combine.
“We need to weaponize the offense,” Wolf said Tuesday at the NFL Combine. “We need to be faster and more explosive on defense and, you know, height, weight speed, playmaking ability, there’ll definitely be an emphasis on those things.”
Without Ridley, Wolf still has many holes to fill as he works to “weaponize” the offense. The Patriots arguably had one of the worst statistical wide receiver groups last season.
Devante Parker was the leader at 11.9 yards per reception, Ridley was at 13.4 for the Jaguars. Demario Douglas had the most yards, with 561, while Ridley had over 1,000. No Patriot wideout had more than two touchdowns all year.
Now without Ridley in free agency, the Patriots will need to regroup. Other free agent that could be a fit are Tyler Boyd and Marquise Brown. The draft and/or trades is the best avenue to acquire top-end talent at this point.
The Patriots current depth chart consists of Kendrick Bourne, Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kayson Boutte, Tyquan Thornton, and Jalen Reagor.