Calvin Ridley has only been practicing with his new Jaguars teammates for a few weeks, but already they’re seeing the skills that made the wide receiver such an anticipated addition to the roster.
“Just the way he moves, you can see. His route running, he can run, catch anything you throw to him, he’s just different, man,” wide receiver Jamal Agnew told talkSPORT this week. “You just watch him out there, he’s a mismatch nightmare. In my opinion I don’t think anybody can guard him in the league.”
The Jaguars acquired Ridley from the Falcons at the trade deadline with the understanding that he wouldn’t see the field until the receiver finished serving his indefinite suspension for violating the league’s gambling policies. Ridley petitioned for reinstatement at the conclusion of the 2022 season, the earliest he could do so, and was fully reinstated in March, opening the door for him to finally participate in his new team’s offseason activities.
The 28-year-old receiver had accumulated 3,342 receiving yards in four years in Atlanta, including a 1,374-yard showing in his last full season of play in 2020, and will now be taking his skills to Duval for the upcoming season.
He’ll join an already dangerous Jaguars offense that got even more potent towards the end of the season as Jacksonville made its late push to overtake Tennessee and win the AFC South for the first time since 2017. The Jags had four regular season wins in which they scored over 30 points, including three in the final five weeks of the year. They also scored 31 points in their comeback victory over the Chargers in the Wild Card Round.
And most of the weapons who contributed to that worst-to-first Jaguars season will be returning to catch passes alongside Ridley. Marvin Jones moved on to the Lions, but in addition to Agnew, wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones and tight end Evan Engram are all still in Jacksonville, a trio which accounted for 2,697 receiving yards last year.
So adding Ridley to the mix should only be a benefit for quarterback Trevor Lawrence as he looks to build on his eye-opening sophomore season and first under head coach Doug Pederson.