Calvin Ridley hasn’t been a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars for long, and he’s only recently started working out with Trevor Lawrence, but his first impressions are certainly positive.
“I’m not trying to get into it too deep, but I love my quarterback right now,” Ridley told reporters Wednesday. “I love my teammates and the other wide receivers I’m playing with. I think we can be something really serious as long as we take those steps to be a really good team with a good core. I think we could do some big things.”
Ridley spent the first four years of his career with the Atlanta Falcons where almost every pass he caught was thrown by Matt Ryan. In 2021, Ridley stepped away from football to deal with his mental health and was subsequently suspended for the entire 2022 season after an NFL investigation found he gambled on games during his time away.
The Jaguars added Ridley in a trade during his suspension and weren’t allowed to meet with him until his reinstatement, which happened in March.
On Wednesday, Ridley was asked about his perception of the Jaguars when he was acquired by the team in November.
“Trevor Lawrence. It was Trevor Lawrence, because I didn’t know anyone,” Ridley said. “All I knew was that he could throw. I’m watching it and I’m watching it, and then I like the core, the receiver core. Evan Engram, [Travis] Etienne, I think Calvin Ridley added to that, Zay Jones, obviously we got way more to that. I was looking at that and thinking that I could be good there and that could be a home for me.”
The Jaguars sent a 2023 fifth-round pick to the Falcons for Ridley and they’ll send a 2024 second-rounder as well if they sign the receiver to a contract extension before he reaches free agency next offseason.
