Everyone anticipated that Calvin Ridley, who served a year-long suspension for gambling on NFL games, would have a breakout season before the season even started. During training camp, he appeared to be moving at a different pace, and since Trevor Lawrence is now throwing him passes, it wouldn’t have surprised anyone if he had returned to the All-Pro conversation.
For whatever reason, he didn’t always fit in during his rookie season with the Jaguars as most people would have predicted. Maybe it was rust on his part, or maybe people are just placing too much value on Trevor Lawrence’s early plays. Despite this, Ridley caught 76 passes for more than 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns, including four games with 100 yards or more. But along with the highs came a lot of lows, and the Jaguars were not happy with Ridley’s attention to detail, according to Charlie Campbell of Walter Football.
“The Jaguars were disappointed and frustrated with the play of Calvin Ridley last year. Ridley was under-weight, did not supply the yards after the catch, and had a plethora of missed assignments,” Campbell writes. “Those sources said the Jaguars want a big outside receiver for Trevor Lawrence and that the position is a round priority on Day 1 or Day 2.”
The Jaguars must continue to surround Trevor Lawrence with more weapons whether or not they re-sign Ridley. Whether Ridley can develop into a legitimate number one receiver is the question that needs to be answered. I don’t think they will want to give him the money he might get from free agency if Campbell’s sources are correct.
But when discussing keeping Calvin Ridley, Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke had a different tune to sing earlier this week.
According to Baldwin, “Calvin did some awfully good things,” via AL.com. “Calvin Ridley is my love. He is completely focused on the ball. He loves to play, he loves to practice, and you guys and women who watched us practice know how much he loves the game. When you bring in a player who hasn’t played football for more than a year and a half, you have to break the rust. He did that, and occasionally he displayed his true self.
And there are no limits. Because of the way he operates, he can only get better. You can’t help but improve when you are passionate about something as much as he is about football. Calvin’s return would be greatly appreciated. We’re going to work toward that. What that means is I don’t know right now.”
