Tennessee General Manager Ran Carthon described the Titans’ intention to sign wide receiver Calvin Ridley in free agency this offseason as “a pipe dream.”
Tennessee had already reached agreements with seven players when the free-agent signing period began on March 13, including a four-year, $50 million contract with centre Lloyd Cushenberry, a three-year, $36 million contract with cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, and a three-year, $21.75 million contract with running back Tony Pollard.
The Titans were also negotiating a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for franchise-tagged L’Jarius Sneed, which would necessitate a new contract for the cornerback. It turned out to be a four-year, $76.4 million contract.
The bidding for Ridley’s talents was said to be a two-team contest between his 2023 team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the New England Patriots. However, once Tennessee stepped in, the Titans signed Ridley on March 13, despite the fact that he demanded a salary larger than any of the team’s previous free-agent signings – a four-year, $92 million agreement.”He’s one of the better separators in the league,” Carthon said on Tuesday. “I had a moment last offseason when we were courting (wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins), and a bunch of those players were in Arizona working out. And it was Ridley, Deebo Samuel, and D-Hop, so all of these guys were working out, and the continuous message coming out of Arizona was that everyone was taking tricks from Calvin, a guy who had been out a year, and everyone was raving about how legit he looked. These were All-Pro, Pro Bowl players admitting they were taking tools out of his bag to assist their game, and then to really see that translate in the season—him being able to
“It’s a huge addition for us. He’s a really, really good player who I think will add a lot of explosiveness to our offense.”
A first-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft after catching 63 passes for 967 yards and five touchdowns in 2017 for Alabama’s CFP national-championship team, Ridley has 324 receptions for 4,358 yards and 36 touchdowns in 66 NFL regular-season games. He’s among the 10 players in NFL history to reach those three numbers in his first 66 games in the league.
Tennessee is trying to build its offense around quarterback Will Levis. Chosen from Kentucky in the second round of last year’s draft, Levis started nine games for the Titans in 2023
The Titans’ wide-receiver corps featured Hopkins, who had 75 receptions for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns last season. But no other Tennessee wide receiver had more than 28 receptions or 424 receiving yards, and only one beside Hopkins had a touchdown reception in 2023
“He has got all kinds of legitimate talent,” Callahan said of Levis, “and so we’re trying the best we can to surround him with as many good players as possible to give him a chance at success.
Sneed spoke at an introductory press conference on Tuesday and expressed excitement about playing with Ridley instead of against him. The Chiefs defeated the Jaguars 17-9 on Sept. 17.
“I can’t wait to get to work with Calvin,” Sneed said. “We had words during the game. Hell of a wide receiver. I don’t think nobody else runs routes like that guy.”
