3 Observations on Calvin Ridley Officially Joining the Jaguars' Roster

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Calvin Ridley can, at last, get to work.

After Ridley was officially reinstated by the NFL on Monday following a year-long suspension for gambling, the former first-round pick and 1,000-yard receiver is now in the building and starting his relationship with his new team.

What does Ridley's official reinstatement mean for the Jaguars in 2023 and beyond? We break it down below.

Calvin Ridley will be seen as the Jaguars' big offseason splash

After a series of restructures, extensions, and releases this offseason that have all been made with the sole purpose of clearing cap space, the Jaguars will still likely walk into free agency with just around $10 million in cap. Considering they still have a draft class to sign after April, the Jaguars are unlikely to have many more moves up their sleeves when it comes to free-agency.

As a result, Ridley will be seen externally -- and potentially even internally -- as the Jaguars' big offseason splash, even though they traded for him at the midpoint of the 2022 season. Ridley has been in the Jaguars' plans long before the 2023 offseason kicked off, but the Jaguars simply do not have the cap space to make many other significant moves. So for now, the addition of Ridley to the foundation of the team they built in 2022 will be seen as the Jaguars' big swing in a year they hope to contend in.

Ridley is joining the Jaguars at exactly the right time

All things considered, now is the perfect time for Ridley to be joining the Jaguars as a franchise. There was optimism around the Jaguars and their 2023 outlook when they traded for Ridley last fall, but nothing like the optimism around the Jaguars now. The Jaguars were still a young, work-in-progress when they made the trade for Ridley last November. Fast-forward to March, and the Jaguars are seen as the kings of the AFC South and a trendy pick to compete for a potential AFC title next season.

Aside from the Jaguars' late-season playoff run in 2022 doing plenty to boost the enthusiasm around the franchise, there are other factors at play that suggest this is the perfect time for a player like Ridley to join the Jaguars. The Jaguars have a young franchise quarterback who should be entering his potentially elite phase in Year 3; an offensive-minded head coach who has overseen multiple top-10 offenses; a supporting cast of productive and explosive pass-catchers and rushers.

The Jaguars likely couldn't have made this trade in 2021, let alone any of the years prior. Now, though, the Jaguars have the ecosystem, the personnel, and the taste of success to make bold moves for bold players.

Jaguars should focus on making it work with Ridley long-term, not just in 2023

The Jaguars will have a lot of cap space clearing up in 2024, which is key considering that is also the first offseason they can enter negations with Trevor Lawrence. But much like the Bengals have to balance Joe Burrow's deal with impending Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase contracts, the Jaguars will have to find a way to make it work with Ridley long-term at the same time as Lawrence.

Simply put, Ridley can't be seen as just a 2023 option. Perhaps he plays just the one season with the team and nets the Jaguars a compensatory pick two drafts from now, but the clear best-case scenario is for Ridley to be a top option for Lawrence for years to come. As such, the Jaguars shouldn't wait long to enter talks with Ridley. They need to get to know him first and obviously see him back in action before any deals are signed, but once they are sure that he is really back, he needs to be made a 2024 priority.

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