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3 former Jacksonville Jaguars who won't live up to their new contracts

• These 3 former Jaguars may have trouble living up to expectations with their new teams.

By Carlos Sanchez

Tennessee Titans newly signed free agent wide receiver Calvin Ridley fields questions during his
Tennessee Titans newly signed free agent wide receiver Calvin Ridley fields questions during his / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA
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1. Calvin Ridley, WR, Tennessee Titans

4-year deal, $92 million

The one that got away. That is Calvin Ridley in a nutshell if you see his signing with the Tennessee Titans from a Jaguars perspective. You could make the case that they should've outbid their division foe but the truth is that he was legitimately interested in returning and was willing to take the Jags' offer.

Now, the team's brass will be tasked with finding Ridley's replacement. Moreover, they'll need to face him twice a season for the next four years (if he plays through his contract). That said, there are reasons to believe the former Alabama product won't thrive in Tennessee. For starters, he showed in 2023 that he wasn't as dominant as he was early in his career.

You could shrug it off as the byproduct of not playing football for more than a year but what if he's lost a step? For the sake of argument, let's say he improves and is better at a personal level than he was last year. The Titans are rebuilding, and there's no guarantee he will succeed with sophomore quarterback Will Levis throwing him passes.

Levis was inconsistent as a rookie and it's uncertain if he's going to be able to take the next step in 2023. Even though he'll get a dependable target in Ridley, accuracy isn't one of his strongest suits, so he may not be able to get him the ball on a consistent basis, something that could frustrate Ridley down the road.

If that wasn't enough, opposing defenses may be able to zero in on Ridley, which will in turn decrease his efficiency. DeAndre Hopkins isn't getting any younger and Tony Pollard isn't a top-tier running back. Add the fact that the offensive line is a work in progress, and Ridley will struggle to live up to expectations.

Will Ridley cross the 1,000-yard mark? You bet, but Tennessee is paying him for more than that, and they'll be severely disappointed once he fails to put together an All-Pro season-caliber season.

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