NFL Free Agency: Calvin Ridley Signing With Titans Has Domino Effect in Fantasy for Two Teams
The Tennessee Titans made a big free-agent splash on Wednesday, signing Calvin Ridley to a four-year, $92 million contract that includes $50 million guaranteed. The move was a bit of a surprise, as reports suggested Ridley was either going to stay with the Jacksonville Jaguars or sign a deal with the New England Patriots. This acquisition has a domino “fantasy” effect for both the Titans and Jaguars.
Let’s start things off with Ridley’s new team, the Titans, who have also signed Tony Pollard to an offense that will have a very new look under new head coach Brian Callahan. Ridley joins an offense that already has DeAndre Hopkins, but that’s no reason to instantly reduce the value of either wideout. Remember, Callahan’s pass attack in Cincinnati was able to support two strong wideouts in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in 2022. The Bengals also threw the ball 63.5% of the time in 2023, which was the second-most in the league behind the Washington Commanders.
In his lone season with the Jaguars last year, Ridley caught 76 passes for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns.
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The real question, both in real and fantasy football, is whether or not Will Levis is able to take the next step in his development into a solid NFL quarterback. He struggled as a rookie, completing just 58.4% of his passes while failing to score more than 15 fantasy points seven times in nine games. Of course, that was in a run-based offense with Derrick Henry in the backfield. Levis also really only had Hopkins in the passing game, and that’s obviously not the case now.
In fact, Levis now has one hell of a group of talented players around him that will put him on the late-round sleeper radar in most fantasy drafts. If he can make progress under Callahan, Levis should help keep Ridley on the WR2 radar while also keeping Hopkins on the fantasy board as either a No. 3 wideout or flex starter.
In Jacksonville, the loss of Ridley opens up 136 targets in the passing game. Newly added wideout Gabe Davis will absorb some of those targets, which is a good thing, but you have to wonder how much better he’ll be after mostly failing to produce with Josh Allen. To me, the biggest winners are Christian Kirk and Evan Engram.
Kirk, who is now once again the unquestioned top fantasy wideout in Duval County, will push back into the WR2 conversation. In fact, I’d rather have Kirk than Ridley or Hopkins. Engram, who is coming off a career season, will also remain highly utilized with Ridley no longer on the roster. He’s locked in as a top-eight tight end.
