There has been no shortage of news in the NFL Monday. Earlier today, the New Orleans Saints signed Derek Carr to a four-year deal worth $150. For a hot moment, it looked like that was going to be the biggest news of the day but then the league announced that they’ve fully reinstated Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley after serving an indefinite suspension for betting on NFL games.
The NFL announced they’ve lifted the suspension they imposed on Ridley in March of last year. At the time of the news, he was a member of the Atlanta Falcons, so it didn’t seem like it would have a direct impact on the Jags. However, general manager Trent Baalke turned heads when he traded for him. The Falcons originally got a fifth-round pick in 2023 and a conditional fourth in 2024. However, that fourth could turn into a third or maybe a second rounder depending on certain factors.
- If Ridley remains on the Jaguars’ roster this season, which is likely, it’ll remain a fourth-round selection.
- If he reaches certain incentives, the fourth-rounder will become third.
- And if Ridley signs a contract extension in Jacksonville, it will then be a second-round selection.
Here are the conditions on the 2024 4th rounder that is going from Jags to Falcons, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 1, 2022
It stays as a 4 if Calvin Ridley is on the roster.
It goes to a 3 if Ridley reaches certain incentives.
And it becomes a 2 if the Jaguars sign Ridley to a contract extension. https://t.co/e6yoxa05fh
Ridley was a 2018 first-round pick by the Falcons and he quickly became one of the most dynamic receivers in the NFL, catching 217 passes for 3,061 receiving yards in his first three NFL seasons. However, he saw a decrease in production in 2021 and suddenly retired in the middle of the season, citing mental health as the main reason.
During his suspension, the NFL was made aware that Ridley was betting on football games, which prompted the league to suspend him indefinitely. It took a while for the NFL to lift the suspension but he’ll now join a wide receiver corps that include Zay Jones and Christian Kirk.
Here are three immediate thoughts following the NFL’s decision to reinstate the new member of the Jaguars’ wide receiver corps.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars GM Trent Baalke works his magic once again
As recently as last year, general manager Trent Baalke was a persona non-grata in Jacksonville and across the league. Fans wanted the Jaguars to move on from him, fair or not, after the short-lived Urban Meyer era. They went as far as to show up at TIAA Bank Field in full clown gear, letting the organization know how they felt about Baalke.
Things didn’t get much better when the news broke that the embattled general manager was the reason then-Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich didn’t want to be the Jaguars’ head coach. But in spite of the pressure, owner Shan Khan remained unfazed and kept Baalke, saying he wanted the right people to help him turn things around.
That wasn’t the end of it though. Baalke earned plenty of scrutiny from his peers after giving Zay Jones and Christian Kirk top-market contracts. In spite of the criticism, both Jones and Kirk went on to post career numbers in 2022, vindicating the general manager’s decision to sign them.
John Shipley of Sports Illustrated spoke to some league executives and coaches at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine and said that they all had a positive opinion of Baalke. Following Ridley’s reinstatement, his reputation should get a significant boost. After all, he’s done a great job of restocking the Jaguars’ roster the last two years.
Besides Trevor Lawrence, Baalke drafted running back Travis Etienne, offensive tackle Walker Little, cornerback Tyson Campbell and safety Andre Cisco, all of whom filled pivotal roles last season. In hindsight, Shad Khan made the right choice when he decide to stick with Baalke around.
2. The Jacksonville Jaguars will focus on the defense in the 2023 NFL Draft
There were no legitimate reasons for the NFL not to reinstate Calvin Ridley. He didn’t break any rules following his suspension. Having said that, the league had everyone wondering what was taking so long, as he filed for reinstatement on February 15 and they lifted the suspension three weeks later.
Ridley is back and ready to roll. He’ll round out a wide receiver group that includes Christian Kirk and Zay Jones. On top of that, tight end Evan Engram will be back after getting the franchise tag, so the Jaguars’ offense will be loaded with talent.
Kirk, Jones, and Ridley, who’ll be playing under the fifth-year option on his rookie deal, will count $28 million against the cap. Moreover, left tackle Cam Robinson and right guard Brandon Scherff are scheduled to have cap hits of $26 million and $23.5 million, respectively. If you add the $11.35 million franchise tag Engram got, that’s a total of $89.27 million between six players. Given all the resources the team’s brass has allocated to the offense the last two seasons, they will likely focus on fortifying their defense in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Jaguars used the tag on Engram not long after the news or Ridley broke. Had he hit the open market, tight end would have been one of their top needs this offseason and due to the limited amount of cap space they currently have, they would have probably drafted a tight end in the first round.
With Ridley back in the fold, it’s highly unlikely that the Jaguars will invest any of their early draft pick in the offense. Instead, expect them to focus on fortifying all three levels of the defense.
1. The Jacksonville Jaguars can have a top 3 offense with Calvin Ridley
The Jaguars’ offense ranked 10th in the league in both total yards and points scored last year. That was without Calvin Ridley. Trevor Lawrence made a leap and running back Travis Etienne logged over 1,100 rushing yards. Moreover, Zay Jones, Christian Kirk, and Evan Engrams all had a huge impact in their first season in Jacksonville.
The addition of Ridley could turn the Jags from good to great. Make no mistake, even if Ridley hadn’t been reinstated, the offense would have most likely improved, as this head coach Doug Pederson’s second year running the show.
Think about how successful Lawrence and the offense were even though they were still getting a hold of Pederson’s system in training camp. After getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Kansas City Chiefs, the Jaguars are motivated more than ever to return to the postseason and Ridley’s will increase their chances.
It’s true that the Jaguars will most likely part ways with wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. in free agency but Ridley would be a huge upgrade. For him to be that upgrade though, he would need to play the way he did in 2020, when he hauled in 90 receptions for 1,374 yards with nine touchdowns.
Ridley has been working out on his own and indicated he’s in great shape even though he hasn’t been at an NFL facility and even if he isn’t 100 percent, he’ll have plenty of time before the 2023 season to shake off the rust.
The Jaguars turned heads last season when they worst to first in the AFC South and made the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Having Ridley back from his suspension will ensure they’ll keep making noise in 2023.