3 Observations on Jaguars Losing Calvin Ridley to the Titans
Calvin Ridley is gone.
After months of speculation and hope, the Jaguars officially saw Ridley leave for their biggest rival in the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday.
Ridley recorded the second 1,000-yard season in his career in 2023, catching 76 passes for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns. He also made it through the entire season healthy, starting all 17 games after serving a season-long suspension in 2022 and missing most of the 2021 season.
So, what exactly did the Jaguars lose on Wednesday and what does it mean?
Trent Baalke, Jaguars only have themselves to blame for losing Ridley
I am not going to knock the Jaguars for not offering Ridley the same deal the Titans did. The Jaguars were never going to pay him $50 million in guarantees or pay him $23 million a year. According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the Jaguars were unlikely to go over $20 million a year for Ridley. But even if the Jaguars were perhaps right for not paying Ridley what the Titans were able to, it doesn't mean they handled this situation correctly.
Simply put, the Jaguars fumbled the entire timeline of the Ridley deal. They were smart to make an aggressive trade for him, but their plan to retain him blew up in their face and resulted in trading a third- and a fifth-round pick for a one-year rental who was coming off two years away from football.
Had the Jaguars figured out a deal with Josh Allen before the tag deadline, they could have tagged Ridley for a little over $20 million and still kept their second-round pick. They were never going to pay him before the start of the league year due to the trade stipulations, but the franchise tag was always the cleanest way out of this.
But because the Jaguars took so long to actually start negotiations with Josh Allen, they couldn't tag Ridley. Losing Allen would have been worse than losing Ridley, but losing Ridley in the final year of Trevor Lawrence's rookie deal is poor management no matter how you slice it.
Gabe Davis signing has now lost some of its shine
When the Gabe Davis signing happened, there were a number of reactions. Some assumed it was to replace Ridley, while others theorized the Jaguars wanted to pair Davis with Ridley and Christian Kirk. According to sources close to the situation, the latter is what the Jaguars were hoping for. They knew there was a chance they would lose Ridley, but the ideal scenario for them was to have Davis play X, Kirk play in the slot, and have Ridley play on the other side of Davis with more freedom to move around the formation than he had in 2023.
Davis is still a talented player who still has potential at 25 years old. His $13 million a year deal isn't outrageous, either. But Davis was a perfect fit for the Jaguars in a world where Ridley was across from him. An offense with Zay Jones across from Davis, if Jones remains with the team, is considerably less intimidating.
Signing Davis can still pay off, and this was never an "either or" situation. But the Jaguars will now have to see if Davis can still meet the high goals they have for him without Ridley on the other side.
Is wide receiver on the docket for No. 17?
It might be too rushed to assume the Jaguars would take a wide receiver at No. 17, especially if Jones remains on the roster. When you consider Baalke has only taken one wide receiver in the first three rounds in his entire career as a general manager, which spans across two teams and 10 drafts, it is surely far from a sure bet the Jaguars would even want a receiver that early.
Still, the Jaguars' offense on paper is lacking a lot of teeth. We saw last year how much wide receiver injuries could doom the offense, which could mean the Jaguars look to options like Brian Thomas Jr. or Adonai Mitchell at No. 17 overall. The Jaguars need to invest in a receiver at some point in the first two days of the draft, and the door seems to at least be cracked open for it to happen at No. 17.
