Patriots expected to ‘swing big’ for Calvin Ridley in free agency

The New England Patriots are expected to “swing big” for wide receiver Calvin Ridley in free agency this week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Sunday. Dan Graziano of ESPN added that he expects the Carolina Panthers to “at least look into Ridley as well.”

Ridley, 29, was acquired by the Jaguars in a 2022 trade and finished his first season in Jacksonville with 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns. However, he had several key drops and miscues after sitting out from football for nearly two years.

While Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has said he hopes to continue building his on-field relationship with Ridley, keeping the receiver won’t be easy.

For one, his price tag is reportedly swelling as the other options in free agency have begun to disappear.

From Friday: No one views Calvin Ridley as a number one wide receiver, but they believe he’ll get paid like one, especially considering the tags for Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman and the extension for Mike Evans. The Pats were often mentioned as a suitor.…

— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) March 10, 2024

It’s also a delicate situation for the Jaguars, who would lose a second-round pick if they re-sign Ridley before free agency begins on Wednesday. If Jacksonville allows Ridley to hit the market and then re-signs him anytime after 4 p.m. ET, the team would owe the Atlanta Falcons a third-round pick.

But waiting until Wednesday will give every other team at least 48 hours to begin talking contract numbers with Ridley, which will reportedly be “rather gaudy.” And it seems there will be no shortage of teams ready to give Ridley a call.