If Calvin Ridley is made expendable by the Falcons, then the Miami Dolphins should be first on the phone to inquire about him. Here are three reasons why.
Calvin Ridley was one of the hottest up-and-coming receivers during the 2020 season. He finished in the top 5 in receiving yards and top 10 in touchdown catches, all while earning himself Second-Team All Pro honors.
While it is generally foolish for any team to look to depart with such a great talent at such a young age, but there are special circumstances regarding the now-fifth year wide receiver out of Alabama. The Atlanta Falcons have been rumored to want to move on from Ridley, and there will likely be an exploration of trades during the coming weeks and months as rosters around the league are reshaped.
But any team that decides to trade for Ridley would be taking on quite the risk. In the middle of the 2021 season, the receiver abruptly announced that he would be taking time off from football to focus on his mental health. There has been little news about how Ridley is progressing and whether or not he is ready to play again in 2022, but there is reason to believe that he’ll make a return.
It probably won’t be with the Falcons, however. It is difficult to know what the team’s front office thinks of him, but a solid portion of the fan base has soured on Ridley. Trade rumors have been afloat for months now, and something could come to fruition as the off season gets under way. The Dolphins are one of the teams that has been under the most speculation in regard to acquiring Ridley, and things got interesting when he apparently liked a tweet of someone saying they hope he ends up in Miami.
So why should the new regime take the risk and try their hand at bringing in the explosive playmaker? Here are three reasons why pursuing Ridley would be a smart move for Miami.
(Relatively) Cheap price tag
Given the circumstances of Ridley’s health and well-being, teams will proceed with caution when calling the Falcons about any potential trades. The risk is obvious, and Atlanta knows it, and will have to act accordingly when it comes to offers.
The former 26th overall pick has outplayed his draft position, and would likely be worth at least two high draft picks (1st/2nd rounders) if there weren’t any lingering questions or issues. But because there is, the Falcons would likely entertain offers that included just one first rounder with perhaps an addition of a late-round pick to sweeten the pot.
The Dolphins can make this happen if they want to address the wide receiver position by bringing in an established veteran instead of taking a flyer on a late-first round pick. Miami holds the 29th selection in the upcoming draft, and there is speculation that they could be using it as trade fodder. The Falcons are in a rebuild, and have plenty of holes to fill and only one first round pick (7) to do it. Depending on who is available when Miami is on the clock, we could see a draft night trade for the former Alabama wide receiver.
Familiarity with Tua/Waddle
They never played a full season together, but the familiarity between Tua Tagovailoa and Calvin Ridley is undoubtedly there.
Ridley was in his final season at Alabama in 2017 when the future Dolphins’ quarterback was just a freshman. Tagovailoa played sparingly in relief of Jalen Hurts, and none of his eight regular season touchdowns ended up in the hands of Ridley. But when Hurts was struggling in the National Championship Game, Nick Saban turned to Tua, who threw the game-tying touchdown pass with under 4 minutes to play. Calvin Ridley was on the receiving end. And while he never played with Jaylen Waddle, the camaraderie between receivers from like schools is apparent.
Speaking of Jaylen Waddle, the seamless chemistry that he enjoyed with Tagovailoa during his rookie season should be more than enough evidence that the Dolphins should pursue Ridley. One of the saving graces of the year was the ability of Miami’s offense to rely on the Alabama connection, and they could have that on both sides of the offense if they chose to go in that direction.
Early Career Resume
It seems impossible that the jury could still be out on a general manager who has been in charge for six years, but that is exactly the case when it comes to Dolphins executive Chris Grier. His draft resume has plenty of questionable picks listed, but he has also made some smart decisions in later rounds that have benefited Miami in the long run. The question with the 2022 Draft becomes whether or not the front office should use their capital for young projects, or trade it for established veterans. Given the current core of the Dolphins, the latter may be the more preferable avenue, and Calvin Ridley would fit the bill as someone who we already know can play.
In his first three full seasons in the NFL, Ridley put up over 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns, all while starting in just 20 of the 34 games that he played in. In 2020, his last full season, he amassed nearly 1,400 receiving yards and was targeted 143 times by Matt Ryan. That performance was good enough to earn Ridley Second-Team All Pro honors. Though five games is a small sample size, Ridley found himself in a bit of a regression in 2021 before his departure. His yards per game average was down over 35 yards, and he had just two touchdowns on 42 targets in the limited time that he played. Despite, we know that the skill set in there for the taking.