It’s not often that a new hire will admit on their first day that they actually wanted to remain with their previous employer.
Former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley did just that during his introductory news conference with the Tennessee Titans on Friday.
“I know that (DeAndre Hopkins is) here and I know that I wanted to play with another receiver on the other side that can help me do what I do best,” Ridley said. “I knew that (the Titans) had a really good defense and they were up-and-coming and stuff, so I was looking into it. You know, I really wanted to, honestly be with the Jags, but there were a lot of things that weren’t working out for me, and I think the Titans had that other side for me, so I chose the Titans. Obviously, the money was pretty good.”
Tennessee has made arguably the biggest splash on the free-agency market at the receiver position, signing Ridley to a four-year, $92M deal on Wednesday.
Ridley gives second-year quarterback Will Levis a second alpha wideout to air it out to, along with five-time Pro Bowler DeAndre Hopkins.
D-Hop led all Titans in targets (137), receptions (75), receiving yards (1,057) and receiving touchdowns (seven) during his first season with the team in 2023-24. His receiving yardage and touchdown totals were more than double any other player’s on the team, while he had 60 more targets and 21 more catches than the next-closest option.
Ridley finished his lone season with the Jaguars by leading the squad in receiving yards (1,016) and touchdowns (eight) while placing second in targets (136) and receptions (76).
The 29-year-old has experience working as a No. 2 option behind Pro Bowl talents, spending the first three seasons of his career from 2018-2020 with Julio Jones and the Atlanta Falcons. Jones, ironically, joined the Titans in 2021.
Ridley played just five games in 2021 and was later suspended for the entire 2022 campaign after it was discovered that he had bet on games.
