Despite having two years remaining on his contract, Calvin Ridley‘s stint in Tennessee has likely come to an end. According to ESPN’s Turron Davenport, the veteran wide receiver is expected to be a cap casualty this offseason.
The Titans won a bidding war for Ridley during the 2024 offseason, signing the former first-round pick to a four-year, $92MM contract. Despite uninspiring QB play from Will Levis and Mason Rudolph, Ridley still produced during his first season with the Titans, finishing with 64 catches for 1,017 yards and four touchdowns.
While the Titans added first-overall pick Cam Ward to guide the offense in 2025, Ridley saw his per-game receiving numbers drop from 59.8 in 2024 to 43.3 in 2025. The wideout was limited to only 17 catches in seven games before his season ended early thanks to a broken fibula.
Ridley is owed about $41MM in base salary between 2026 and 2027, with his cap hits exceeding $26MM in each of those campaigns. However, the Titans did include an out in his contract, so the team could release Ridley and only be left with around $13MM in dead cap. About $3MM of his 2026 salary is guaranteed in mid-March, allowing the player to still enter free agency at about the same time as his peers.
While teams might not be able to justify a $20MM annual commitment to the receiver, Ridley still shouldn’t lack for suitors if he does hit the open market. The wideout proved to be a formidable scorer during his time with the Falcons, hauling in 26 touchdowns through his first three seasons in the league. He also has three 1,000-plus-yard seasons on his resume, including a 1,374-yard showing with the Falcons in 2020 that led to his lone All-Pro nod.
While 2026 will represent Ridley’s age-32 season, he should be a worthy target for WR-needy teams. Assuming he is cut, he’ll be joining a positional free agent class that includes the likes of George Pickens, Mike Evans, Alec Pierce, Jauan Jennings, and Wan’Dale Robinson.
Makes sense … team needs to look for new leaders for next year. Hopefully Okonkwo will be back. Pierce would be intriguing. Had he not been ejected for hardly touching the official, the Colts would have won yesterday
Im interested at the right price, provided we supplement him with a draft pick WR too.
Like 1 for 10. Im out after that.
It makes perfect sense. This year made it very clear it will take Ward years to develop.
I think he will be alot better next year as receivers adjust to his side-arm rockets. If everyone improves and the defense can make leaps and bounds, it will be interesting.
Whoever signs George Pickens will definitely be an upgrade
Best fits for Ridley: Browns, Patriots, Commanders, Texans
No surprise there
There’s an argument to be made for the Titans to keep Ridley one more season. The dead money number for 2027 is $5 million. Adding that to the guaranteed money for 2026 ($13 million) equals $18 million. So the Titans could retain a high-powered WR2 for $18 million for another season, taking on no additional commitments.
If the Titans don’t cut but trade Ridley, the buyer gets the same deal (perhaps better, due to some bonuses paid by the Titans). The one-year option on Ridley might be worth a 5th or 6th round pick.
I haven’t looked at Ridley’s 2025 tape and I don’t know the detail of his injury history, if it looks chronic or a one-off. Does Ridley still want to play football or is he just collecting a paycheque? His 17.8 yards/catch in 2025 suggests Ridley is still a serious deep threat. On the other hand, his atrocious catch percentage from 2021 on (about 55%) is not what one wants from a starting WR2 (65%+ would be the target).