Should the Jaguars Re-Sign Calvin Ridley
Good receivers have been hard to come by in Jacksonville. Long gone are the days of Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell, and it’s been nearly a decade since the tandem of Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns broke records in Jacksonville. The franchise has had just seven 1,000-yard receivers in its entire history and two of them were on the active roster in 2023, Christian Kirk and the subject of this article, Calvin Ridley. In what might be Trent Baalke’s
most heralded and surprising move in his tenure as General Manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars, the front office made a call to the Atlanta Falcons to acquire the rights to former second-team All-Pro Calvin Ridley. Ridley has had about as interesting of a start to a career as one can have. The former Alabama receiver set the world on fire in his rookie season, hauling in 64 balls for 821 yards and 10 scores. He was named to the Pro Football Writers of
America’s All-Rookie team. In 2020, he took his game to the next level, amassing 90 receptions for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns. Soon after Ridley’s career year, the standout receiver faced some speed bumps. He played just five games between the 2021 and 2022 seasons after injuries, personal time off, and suspension took him away from the game. Insert Trent Baalke and the Jaguars, who sought out Ridley in hopes of providing young Trevor Lawrence with a top-shelf receiver. So has Ridley lived up to those expectations? Well, yes and no.
Ridley, statistically, had a fantastic first season with the Jaguars. It was also his first real playing time in almost two years. Ridley managed to pass the 1,000-yard threshold and was the team’s most productive receiver as he caught eight touchdowns as well. When you start to look deeper, you’ll realize why some fans were dismayed by Ridley’s 2023 season. Among the concerns was his issue with drops; Ridley’s seven drops were tied for seventh most among
receivers. He also failed to get much going after the catch as he averaged just 2.7 yards after the catch. Ridley’s consistency was also an issue. Of his 17 games played, Ridley managed 50 yards in just eight contests. That’s something the Jaguars staff will want to be improved upon if they do decide to bring Ridley back on a new deal. So should the Jaguars bring Ridley back or not? Does his play in 2023 warrant a new contract? My answer is, simply, yes. The data doesn’t tell the whole story.
