Two-Time 1,000-Yard Receiver Calvin Ridley Signs with the Titans
Coming off his second career 1,000 + receiving yards season, dynamic wide receiver Calvin Ridley has signed a four-year 90-million-dollar deal with 50 million being guaranteed by the Tennessee Titans. Despite a late-season collapse by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who started the season 8-3 and lost five of their last six games to miss the playoffs, Ridley re-entered the league by reminding fans about his game-changing abilities at the wide receiver position. The young five-year career of Ridley has been filled with unwanted drama, as Ridley was suspended by the NFL for the entire 2022-23 season for betting on NFL games. With his reputation having been damaged, Ridley came into last season looking to prove his doubters wrong based on his on-field performance. Ultimately, Ridley was able to silence the critics last season and it has led to him signing a long-term deal with the Titans.
Ridley, who was drafted in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, has been a difference-maker since his rookie season with the Falcons. Ridley’s rookie season with Atlanta was filled with him breaking team records and making himself one of the top receivers in the league. In 2018, Ridley broke the Falcons single-season record for touchdowns scored by a rookie, as Ridley totaled ten touchdowns. Ridley would finish his rookie season leading all first-year players in receiving yards (821), receiving touchdowns (10) and receptions (64). Throughout his four-year career in Atlanta, Ridley accumulated 248 receptions for 3,342 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns.
The ending of Ridley’s time in a Falcons’ uniform didn’t end cleanly, as Ridley announced five weeks into the 2021 season that he would be stepping away from the team for mental-health reasons. Following the conclusion of the season, Ridley was suspended by the league for betting on NFL games, including his own team. The suspension would last for the entire 2022-23 season, prior to the Falcons deciding to trade Ridley to the Jacksonville Jaguars for draft picks. Following his reinstatement into the NFL, Ridley entered last season on his fifth-year option with the Jaguars. In his first full season with the Jaguars, Ridley finished the 2023-24 campaign with a career-high 76 receptions for 1,016 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. After his show-stopping return to the field last season, Ridley will aim to continue his dominance at the wideout position this upcoming season with the Titans.
