Jaguars HC Doug Pederson on Calvin Ridley’s First OTAs: ‘It’s Another Piece to Our Puzzle’
When premier talent dons a team’s colors for the first time, there’s a certain aura that overtakes the field.
For the Jacksonville Jaguars this comes in the form of wide receiver Calvin Ridley, a drastic improvement to an already solid receiving corps and one of the best talents the position has to offer.
Though Jags coach Doug Pederson cannot be on the field for the first phase of team activities, Ridley’s participation in these events for the first time has the coaching staff excited.
“I can’t be on the field right now, coaches aren’t allowed,” Pederson said on Thursday. “Phase One. It’s just exciting, he’s fired up. He’s excited to be here; we’re excited to have him. He’s been working with Trevor Lawrence] obviously, and the guys spent some time together.
"It’s just another piece; it’s another piece to our puzzle and a huge piece that can help us head in the right direction of where we want to go and all of that. We’re just excited, we’re excited to start Phase Two of the offseason program and we can be on the field with the guys and really see how everybody is shaping up at that time.”
Ridley’s heavy involvement in the first week of team activities is indicative of a different energy felt around this current Jacksonville Jaguars team so far. For Pederson and the coaching staff, this is an extension of last season’s success.
“This first week has been good that way,” Pederson said. “I want them to believe that, I want them to feel that coming off of last season. But we also understand that we’re not going to be able to just walk out there and repeat what we did. We still got to put in the hard work, the preparation, the time has got to be spent in the weight room, the classroom, and on the practice field.
"I think that’s what the guys understand, but yet, I still want them to remember the ups and downs of last year of what we’ve been through. The energy is great, last year I think they were looking at me at this time going, ‘Who is this guy? How are we going to trust this guy?’ Trying to build that trust with the team. They know who I am, how I operate. The energy level is extremely high right now and we got to continue that through the rest of the offseason and on into camp.”
