3 prominent Jacksonville Jaguars players who won't probably return in 2024

No. 1 Jacksonville Jaguars player who won't likely return in 2024: Calvin Ridley

The Jaguars pulled off one of the biggest moves at the trade deadline last year when they acquired Calvin Ridley from the Atlanta Falcons. Although Ridley was serving a suspension for betting on football games at the time, he had previously shown he could be a WR1, so it was a low-risk, high-reward decision.

Ridley was reinstated from the suspension in March and proved throughout the offseason that he had no rusty from his time away from football. Then, Week 1 came and he went on to haul in eight receptions for 101 yards with one touchdown. Throughout the game, he displayed the same skills that helped him tally 3,300+ receiving yards and 28 touchdowns in Atlanta.

Since the opener, Ridley has only had another 100-yard game but that's because other teams devote lots of resources to slowing him down. He's often double or even triple-covered, which affects his ability to make plays. On the bright side, the attention he gets has allowed tight end Evan Engram and wide receiver Christian Kirk to find lots of opportunities.

Ridley is on pace to reach close to 1,000 yards, so it's fair to say that the Jaguars are getting a solid return on their investment. However, they'll need to decide if they will 'the Alabama product back next year. They already gave Zay Jones and Christian Kirk top-market money. The team's brass would probably need to give Ridley a contract that pays him around $18 million to $20 million next year.

There's no doubt Ridley plays a huge role in how teams defend the Jaguars' offense but they'll need to decide if devoting so much cap space to the wide receiver corps is feasible.

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