Tag: Calvin Ridley

Titans’ DeAndre Hopkins talks Calvin Ridley signing, ‘little brother’ Will Levis

Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins spoke about the addition of Calvin Ridley, his “little brother” Will Levis, and more.

Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is down in Orlando for the annual league meetings this week to spread awareness for flag football and expressed his excitement for the direction the franchise is heading.

“I’m happy, I’m smiling,” Hopkins said of the Titans’ offseason moves so far, per Jim Wyatt. “I’m trying to win a championship, and everything that Miss Amy is doing and Ran (Carthon) is doing is along those lines.

“It’s hard not to be happy about the moves we made this offseason, and where this team is going. My mindset is to win a championship this year for the Tennessee Titans, and that is how I am going to approach every day.”

Hopkins touched on the addition of wide receiver Calvin Ridley specifically and believes defenses are going to have a tough time preparing for the one-two punch he’ll form with the former Jacksonville Jaguar.

“I fell in love with his personality, and who he is as a human,” DHop said of Ridley. “Calvin is a great guy, he wants to be great and he is going to be great. Anything I can do to help him accomplish anything that he wants, that’s what I’ll do, just like the older guys did with me.

“But I think him and I on the field, it is going to be hard to kind of key in on one of us. It is only going to make defense prepare a little harder for us this year.”

With new head coach Brian Callahan, the Titans are expected to move into a more modern offense that will see them throw the ball more. Hopkins can’t wait to see how that looks, especially now that Ridley is aboard.

“I am very excited to get going under Brian’s offense, and his schemes,” Hopkins said. “Obviously I’ve talked to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and those guys told me that I would love this offense, and I think the sky is the limit, especially with a guy like Calvin. I am very excited for this offense.”

When it comes to his quarterback, Will Levis, Hopkins revealed he has been in constant contact with the second-year signal-caller and referred to the Kentucky product as “like a little brother.”

“Will and I talk all the time,” he said. “Will is like a little brother to me. Anywhere I can be instrumental in his development, I’ll do it.”

Hopkins has been quite instrumental in Levis’ development so far after being his most reliable target during a 2023 campaign in which the veteran broke 1,000 yards.

And, with a new offense that will be more pass-heavy in 2024, there’s a good chance Hopkins will post even better numbers in his second season in the two-tone blue.

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Robert Kraft reveals why Patriots missed on signing Calvin Ridley

One of Robert Kraft’s reasons for the failed Calvin Ridley signing is sure to raise more than a few eyebrows

The New England Patriots’ inability to land wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been a hot topic of discussion. Patriots owner Robert Kraft weighed in on the matter on Tuesday morning.

The team still needs a true top receiver, and Ridley could have potentially been that for them. He finished the 2023 season with 76 catches for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns. He ended up signing a four-year, $92 million contract with the Tennessee Titans.

Now, New England may have to find a playmaker through the draft and undergo a youth movement at the position. Kraft revealed a new wrinkle in the failed Ridley signing, via Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.

“There was one outstanding receiver that unfortunately we couldn’t close. It was not because of finance,” Kraft said. “Clearly, his girlfriend wanted to be in the South. We had a situation where the taxes were, like, almost 10% higher. We offered- we were willing to keep going at that premium. But he didn’t want to be in the Northeast. And part of it might be the quarterback situation as well.”

These could certainly be viable reasons as to why the wide receiver did not end up with the Patriots.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t ignore the fact that the team still needs a top receiver. One has to wonder if these factors will limit the Patriots in the coming years, even if they take a rookie quarterback with the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Projecting Titans’ WR depth chart after Calvin Ridley signing

Bryce Lazenby takes a look at the Titans’ current WR depth chart, and how it might look after final cuts.

The Tennessee Titans have a new coaching staff, and with a new coaching staff comes a new identity.

For years, the Titans have been a run-first offense that has only had one or two reliable options to throw the ball to. In 2023, DeAndre Hopkins led the Titans with 75 catches for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns. No other wide receiver on the roster even caught 30 passes.

Thus, new head coach Brian Callahan and general manager Ran Carthon saw the position as a pressing need this offseason.

The Titans were aggressive in free agency and dished out a whopping $50 million in guaranteed money to Calvin Ridley. Ridley and Hopkins should give the Titans an enviable one-two punch at the position.

The team also retained Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, who is a solid depth piece after tallying at least 25 catches and 370 yards in each of the last three seasons.

The team will likely add another receiver in the 2024 NFL draft, but before that happens let’s go ahead and take a look at the wide receiver depth chart as it stands today.

Starter Second string Third string
DeAndre Hopkins Nick Westbrook-Ikhine Tre’Shaun Harrison
Calvin Ridley Colton Dowell Kearis Jackson
Treylon Burks Kyle Philips Mason Kinsey

Other than Ridley being added, the only notable difference from last season is Chris Moore, who signed with the Arizona Cardinals.

The hope is that Burks will flourish playing with Hopkins and Ridley. His career has been disappointing to this point, but there will be much less pressure on the former Arkansas Razorback now.

While Burks and NWI currently sit as WR3 and WR4, respectively, it’s likely the team will bring in a receiver in the 2024 NFL draft to compete with them for playing time.

Kinsey and Philips are slot-only options, and Jackson provides value as a return man. Kinsey, Philips, Harrison, Dowell, and Jackson could end up competing for one or two roster spots.

Ultimately, I believe the depth chart will look something like this after final cuts are made:

Starter Second string Third string
DeAndre Hopkins Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
Calvin Ridley Drafted WR Kearis Jackson
Treylon Burks Kyle Philips

I imagine Burks will work mostly from the slot in three-receiver sets, but the Titans have a slew of options on how to deploy their top three, as Ridley and Hopkins are capable of lining up inside and out.

Ridley has breakaway speed and is a crisp route-runner, while Hopkins is the possession receiver who catches everything.

Allowing Burks to work out of the slot could do wonders for his game. The wide receiver flourished out of the slot in college thanks to his YAC (yards after catch) ability and would likely do the same in the pros.

It helps to also have Philips, who has flashed as a slot receiver in the past.

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Titans set top-30 visit with Michigan WR Roman Wilson

The Titans reportedly have a top-30 visit set with Michigan WR Roman Wilson.

The Tennessee Titans made a major splash to upgrade wide receiver by signing free agent Calvin Ridley. However, the team is reportedly eyeing further improvements to the position in the 2024 NFL draft.

According to Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline, Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson has a top-30 visit scheduled with the Titans.

The speedy receiver impressed at the combine in Indianapolis. Wilson ran a 4.39 40-yard dash, a 10-yard split of 1.52, and added 12 reps on the bench press.

And, per Pauline, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound wideout impressed at the Michigan Pro Day.

One of McCarthy’s favorite targets, Roman Wilson, had a terrific day. His shuttle times were incredible, as Wilson timed as fast as 3.99 seconds in the short shuttle and 6.75 seconds in the three-cone. Wilson translated that speed and quickness into drills and caught everything thrown his way. He also caught punts and looked good. On Thursday, Wilson met with the Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, Washington Commanders and Pittsburgh Steelers. He has two official-30 visits, the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans.

In 2023, Wilson was a key piece of the National Championship-winning Michigan Wolverines. He caught 48 passes for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com offered the following scouting report on Wilson:

Smooth strider with alarming speed once he touches top gear. Wilson primarily focused on attacking the intermediate and deep portions of the field, adding an explosive element to the Wolverines’ ground-and-pound approach. Wilson is an electrifying athlete, which should push his stock up, but he’ll need to learn to level up his skill getting from Point A to Point B as a route-runner to reach his potential. Wilson has good hands and can run after the catch down the field, but he’s not really a catch-and-go option underneath. He has the separation potential to make a quarterback’s life easier and figures to continue his ascension as a starting slot talent.

Most draft analysts have Wilson projected as a second- or third-round pick.

The Titans only have two picks in the top 100 thanks to not having a third-rounder, so, with their current slate of picks, they’d have to take Wilson at No. 38 if they want him.

While the Ridley addition improved the group, there is still plenty of room to add more talent at wide receiver — and more specifically, the Titans need to add speed, something Wilson has.

A wide receivers room of Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins, Roman Wilson and Treylon Burks would be a vast improvement over the last few groups the team has trotted out.

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Titans’ Calvin Ridley predicted to be biggest free-agent bust by SI

Sports Illustrated predicts Titans WR Calvin Ridley will be the biggest free-agent bust of this year’s signings.

The Tennessee Titans made a splash signing in free agency with the addition of wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who will provide quarterback Will Levis with a much-needed upgrade on offense.

In order to secure Ridley, the Titans gave him a four-year, $92 million deal that saw no shortage of criticism, with the vast majority of it coming from national media, as you’d expect.

One of those people is Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated, who cites the deal as the reason Ridley will the biggest free-agent bust from this year’s signings.

Ridley left Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars to be the No. 1 wide receiver for Will Levis and the Titans. There’s nothing wrong with the team adding a dynamic wide receiver to help a second-year quarterback, but they might regret this contract in a year or two.

Ridley, who turns 30 later this year, signed a massive four-year, $92 million contract with the Titans—it’s understandable why the Jaguars didn’t match that price. For that contract, Ridley comes with too many concerns, including age, availability and performance. He played in every game for the Jaguars last season, something he did only once in five seasons with the Falcons. But Ridley struggled to learn Doug Pederson’s offense and had a few costly drops with the Jaguars. Perhaps playing with new Titans coach Brian Callahan will make the Ridley signing worth the risks. 

As far as his age is concerned, lest we forget that Ridley only played in five games in 2021 and was suspended for the entire 2022 campaign, thus he has more tread on the tire than most receivers his age.

And if you ask him, he’s really 25, so…

Sure, Ridley has missed games in the past due to injury, but he’s coming off a season in which he played in all 17 games for the Jacksonville Jaguars. And, putting the 2021 campaign aside for now, the most games he’s missed in a season is three.

We’ve seen a variety of explanations for why things didn’t pan out as well as they could have in Jacksonville. That said, if his issues were that concerning, his former pass-game coordinator with the Jags and current Titans offensive coordinator, Nick Holz, likely would have sounded the alarm before Tennessee signed him.

The fact of the matter is, the Titans desperately needed help at the position to aid in their quest to figure out if Levis is the guy. It’s true they spent a lot of money to acquire Ridley, but that’s to be expected when signing the best available player at a position in free agency.

And, the contract will look a lot more tame once the slew of wideouts around the NFL get the extensions they are due for.

Even if this the Ridley signing crashes and burns, the Titans have a fairly reasonable out in Year 3, and a near-clean out in Year 4, so this is hardly a contract that will sink the franchise if it doesn’t work out.

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The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Wrapping up NFL free agency for 2024

2024 NFL free agency is just about in the books, so it’s time for Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar to analyze the biggest transactions in the second wave.

Now that most of NFL free agency for the 2024 league year is in the bag — though there are a few helpful players still on the open market — it’s time for Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire, to recap the biggest and most important moves in the second wave of this free agency phase. Greg and Doug covered the first day of free agency last week in the Xs and Os; here’s the conclusion.

Among the discussion points:

  • What does Brian Burns bring to a Giants defensive line that already has Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence?
  • Can Justin Fields become the best version of himself in the Steelers’ offense?
  • Conversely, can Kenny Pickett turn his career around with the Eagles?
  • How can Calvin Ridley use his true X-Iso skill set to ramp up the Titans’ offense?
  • Can the Texans’ addition of Danielle Hunter, along with Will Anderson Jr. and Denico Autry, make Houston’s defensive line a Super Bowl-level group?
  • What can Hollywood Brown do for the Chiefs?
  • Tyron Smith is a future Hall of Famer, but what will he be able to do for the Jets’ offensive line in the short term?
  • Chase Young has been an inconsistent pass-rusher throughout his NFL career; can he turn it around with the Saints?
  • The Lions made important additions to their defensive line and their secondary; can all that put them over the top?
  • The Falcons already have a ton of weapons for new quarterback Kirk Cousins. How will the addition of receiver Rondale Moore affect what looks like one of like the NFL’s most explosive offenses (in theory, at least)?

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Full breakdown of Calvin Ridley’s contract with Titans

A look at the full details of WR Calvin Ridley’s contract with the Titans.

In the days after the Tennessee Titans signed him, contract details for wide receiver Calvin Ridley were revealed.

Ridley signed a four-year, $92 million deal with Tennessee that includes $46.9 million in fully guaranteed money. The annual average ($23 million) ranks 10th at the position, and the fully guaranteed money ranks third, per Over the Cap.

But, bear in mind, there are countless wide receivers slated to get extensions very soon, so he will fall in those rankings in due time.

Here’s the full breakdown of the deal, per Over the Cap:

Per Over the Cap

One good thing about this deal is the fact that Ridley only accounts for a $10 million cap hit in Year 1, giving the Titans more cap space to work with immediately.

Of course, Ridley’s cap hits rise significantly in the years that follow, but the Titans could get out of the deal in 2026 if need be with a dead-cap charge of $10 million and a cap savings of $16.75 million.

If the Titans were to cut him with a post-June 1 designation in the same year, that would lower the dead-cap hit to just $5 million and increase the savings to $21.7 million.

The exit is even friendlier in the final year of the deal in 2027, as cutting Ridley would only cost $5 million in dead cap and save Tennessee $22.2 million.

There were no shortage of haters of this deal when it was first reported, but after looking at the full breakdown, it’s clear that reaction was overblown.

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Titans’ Calvin Ridley talks time with Jaguars, working with Will Levis

Titans WR Calvin Ridley touched on his time with the Jaguars and working with a young QB like Will Levis.

Right up until the Tennessee Titans unexpectedly signed him in free agency, it looked like wide receiver Calvin Ridley was going to return to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

During his introductory press conference on Friday, Ridley said he wanted to go back to the Jags but it simply “wasn’t working out” and he was “uncomfortable at times” with the situation.

“I was just a little uncomfortable at times,” Ridley said, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “(The Titans) showed me that they want me here for a while. They told me already that they’re going to treat me as a grown man.”

A hot topic pertaining to Ridley and his time with the Jags was his inconsistent production.

Granted, he did top 1,000 yards, but he also had eight games in which he had 40 yards or less. Some blame that on Ridley himself, but others believe the Jags simply didn’t use him properly.

Regardless, the Alabama product looks at his time in Jacksonville as a win.

“I didn’t come late to nothing. I respected (the Jaguars) and everybody in the building,” Ridley said, per Terry McCormick of the Associated Press. “I look at it as a win for me personally, when I have to think about it like that. If I don’t, I’m going to think I’m a failure when I did pretty decent with two years off, I did pretty decent. I look at it as that.”

There has been concern about Ridley getting a long-term contract at the age of 29, but the former first-round pick believes that number doesn’t really reflect how he feels and he believes his arrow is pointing up.

“I’m ready to take off,” Ridley said, while also adding “I’m 29 on paper, but I’m probably like 25 for real to be honest with you.”

It’s understandable why Ridley feels that way. After all, he’s only played four full seasons in the NFL. He appeared in just five games in 2021 and was then suspended for the entirety of the 2022 campaign.

And, knowing that context, it makes his 1,000-yard season in 2023 more impressive.

As far as quarterback Will Levis is concerned, Ridley looks forward to working with the second-year signal-caller and believes his being a veteran will make communication with the Kentucky product easier.

“What I’m most excited about is that he’s young, and I’m a vet, and I feel like when you’re in that role, it’ll be a little more easier for me to talk to him and communicate with him,” Ridley said. “I’m excited that he’s young and probably willing to learn, but I’m older and willing to learn too.”

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See it: First look at Calvin Ridley in a Titans uniform

A look at what WR Calvin Ridley will look like in a Titans uniform

One of the biggest splashes of the entire free-agency period, the Tennessee Titans came out of nowhere to sign former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver, Calvin Ridley.

The reason it was unexpected was because the Titans weren’t considered one of the finalists for the veteran wideout.

However, like a thief in the night, general manager Ran Carthon swooped in and landed Ridley, who was the best available option at wideout on the market and will provide a massive upgrade for Tennessee.

The Titans introduced Ridley in a press conference on Friday, and if you haven’t gotten a chance to check it out (highlights here), you definitely should. The 29-year-old is as genuine as they come.

Shortly after introducing the former first-round pick, the Titans’ social media team released a photo depicting what Ridley will look like in the two-tone blue.

While Ridley’s jersey number has yet to be confirmed, the No. 0 he donned with the Jags last season is available.

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Titans’ updated cap space after first wave of signings

The Titans’ cap space situation after their first wave of signings.

The Tennessee Titans have made a slew of moves in free agency so far, with the team bringing back some of its own free agents, as well as signing some outside free agents.

Knowing that, it’s time to check in on what the Titans’ salary cap situation is, seeing as how they still have more moves to make.

According to Spotrac, the Titans have $52.1 million in top-51 cap space, the third-most in the NFL. Over the Cap has a slightly lower number, coming in at $48.1 million, which is also the third-most in the league based on their totals.

It’s important to note, however, that neither site includes the deals of Kenneth Murray or Saahdiq Charles yet, so the figures listed are higher than they actually are.

Regardless, the Titans still have plenty of cap space to make more big moves, if they so choose.

One reason the Titans have been able to sign all the players they have and still have a lot of cap space is because the first-year cap hits of some of the contracts are very low.

For example: Calvin Ridley’s four-year, $92 million deal has a first-year cap charge of just $10 million, per Over the Cap. Lloyd Cushenberry’s four-year, $50 million deal will cost just $6.4 million against the cap in Year 1.

It’s true, those cap numbers will certainly rise in the years ahead, but that will be in tandem with the rise of the league’s salary cap in general, so the Titans will be able to absorb them much easier.

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