Calvin Ridley would get ‘rather gaudy’ money in free agency, per report

The Jacksonville Jaguars are hoping to keep wide receiver Calvin Ridley, but it won’t be easy, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

On Sunday morning, Fowler wrote that the market for Ridley’s services is expected to be pretty robust if the receiver hits free agency.

“The Jaguars very much want to re-sign receiver Calvin Ridley, who had a good experience in Jacksonville, but they know that will be tough if he reaches the negotiating period starting March 11. The expectation is he will put up a rather gaudy number on a per-year average. Teams see elite ability there.”

That’s not particularly surprising, and it complicates negotiations for the Jaguars. While the team doesn’t want to lose a player who recorded 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns, his drops and miscues proved costly. On top of that, the Jaguars would lose a second-round pick if they sign him too quickly, so Jacksonville may be forced into allowing teams to negotiate with Ridley if they hope to only lose a third-round pick.

It seems the ideal solution for the Jaguars would be the franchise tag, which would guarantee Ridley $21.8 million in 2024 and allow Jacksonville to avoid a long-term commitment to the receiver.

That scenario only makes sense if the Jaguars don’t need the tag to keep Josh Allen, though. The star pass rusher is the team’s top priority and will undoubtedly receive the tag if he and the Jaguars can’t agree to a long-term deal before the March 5 deadline to apply the tag.

If the Jaguars are forced to use the tag on Allen, it’s looking increasingly difficult for the team to also retain Ridley.