Before Calvin Ridley surprisingly agreed to sign with the Titans, the receiver had reportedly narrowed his choices to two teams — the Jaguars or Patriots.
In a Thursday press conference, New England’s top personnel man Eliot Wolf offered a simple explanation as to why Ridley ended up heading to the dark-horse team.
“Another team offered more money would be the main thing,” Wolf said, via Evan Lazar of the team’s website.
Ridley agreed to a four-year deal worth a reported $92 million with $50 million fully guaranteed.
A week before the draft, the Patriots have Demario Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster, K.J. Osborn, and Kendrick Bourne among their top receivers. Wolf admitted that he’s “not sure” the team has a player who can win every time when lined up alone on the weak side of a formation. But the team has studied potential options that aren’t just incoming rookies.
“We’ve had conversations with teams about different scenarios,” Wolf said. “Not just at receiver but at other positions. That’s definitely something that we’d be open to.”
After finishing 4-13 last season, New England holds the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft. The Patriots appear likely to pick a quarterback with their first selection.
The Packers signed free agent Andre Dillard to a contract, the team announced.
The Packers have a lot of questions in their offensive line, with left tackle David Bakhtiari a free agent after his release by Green Bay. They have Rasheed Walker, Kadeem Teifort, Zach Tom, Luke Tenuta and Caleb Jones at tackle on their roster, so Dillard likely will compete for the left tackle job.
The Packers also still could — and probably will — draft multiple linemen next week.
Dillard, 28, has played mostly left tackle in his career, but he also has experience at right tackle. He has appeared in 59 games with 19 starts, including a career-high 10 at left tackle for the Titans in 2023.
He played a career-high 562 offensive snaps last season.
The Titans released him March 15.
The Eagles made him the 22nd overall pick in 2019, and he spent his first four seasons with the team.
Agents love to make contracts seem to be worth more than they are. Those who don’t warp and twist reality are the rare exception.
The end result is that the numbers commonly circulated when it comes to the value of specific deals are much higher than they actually are.
While it’s a dynamic that applies to every position, the receiver position currently has the most glaring examples of contracts which aren’t what they seem to be — especially at the supposed top of the market.
Let’s start with Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill. $30 million per year! False.
Beyond the new money/old money fiction that is commonly used to pump up contract value, Hill’s contract has a phony-baloney final year that pays out $45 million. It deftly pushes the new-money average to $30 million.
The truth is that Hill’s extension has a new-money average of $25 million per year. The more accurate truth is that, when he was traded to Miami, he signed a four-year deal worth $23.8 million per year.
And $23.8 million is a far cry from $30 million.
Next on the highest-paid receiver list is Davante Adams of the Raiders. $28 million per year! Also false.
His contract has a bogus back end of $72.5 million over two years, which deliberately drives up the average. His contract is, in reality, a three-year, $67.5 million deal. The real average is $22.5 million per year.
Then there’s Rams receiver Cooper Kupp. His post-Super Bowl MVP contract paid him $26.7 million per year! Annnnnd false.
It’s a five-year deal worth $21.97 million per year.
The list goes on and on. Eagles receiver A.J. Brown, $25 million per year? Nope. $20.8 million.
Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf, $24 million annually? More like $19 million.
49ers receiver Deebo Samuel, $23.85 million per year? Make that $18.9 million.
Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin, $23.2 million? Try $17.78 million.
The three newest deals, done in the last month, fall far closer to truthful and accurate on their face.
Colts receiver Michael Pittman traded in the franchise tag for a three-year, $70 million deal. That’s a real $23.3 million average and a return to the open market by 2027.
Titans receiver Calvin Ridley signed for $92 million over four years. It’s a solid $23 million per year. (The Titans can get out after two years, but Ridley will make $24 million per year through 2025.)
The best deal of them all might be the revised contract signed by Texans receiver Stefon Diggs. He’ll get $22.5 million this year plus a ticket to the open market in 2025. None of the other receivers on this list are due to become free agents next year, although some of them (specifically Adams) could be cut before the new league year in March.
Keep these numbers in mind as the next wave of receivers jockey for their next contracts, from Justin Jefferson of the Vikings to Ja’Marr Chase of the Bengals to Tee Higgins of the Bengals (who is subject to the franchise tag) to Brandon Aiyuk of the 49ers and beyond.
The simple reality is that no receiver is currently making even $24 million per year when the contract is valued from the moment the contract is signed. Will some receivers soon be making more than that? Jefferson and Chase absolutely should.
Tackle Leroy Watson won’t be with the Browns for the start of their offseason program next week.
Watson was traded to the Titans on Friday. Tennessee announced that they are sending a seventh-round pick, No. 227 overall, to the Browns in exchange for Watson.
The move means Watson will be reunited with offensive line coach Bill Callahan, who left the same position with the Browns to join his son Brian’s staff with the Titans.
Watson played in seven games for the Browns without making any starts last season. He signed with the Falcons after going undrafted in 2022 and also spent time with the 49ers before making his way to Cleveland.
The Titans added a lot this offseason. They are not adding at the most important position on the field.
Tennessee is building around Will Levis, a second-round pick in 2023.
Levis will have a second offense, a second head coach, a second play-caller in his second season.
“He’s got two things going on,” new coach Brian Callahan said, via NFL.com. “He’s trying to build relationships and be a leader, as well as learn an entirely new way of doing and playing football than he’s been accustomed to in his first year. He’s got a lot on his plate.”
Levis also is tasked with becoming a team leader now that he’s “the guy.”
So far, so good in the first few days of the team’s offseason program.
“I’ve been very pleased with his demeanor, his actions, as he’s started the offseason program,” Callahan said. “And again, we’re in our first few days, but really excited about where he’s headed in that role.”
Levis made nine starts as a rookie and finished with 1,808 passing yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. The Titans went 3-6 with Levis starting.
“I want Will to be him,” Callahan said. “He’s got to do it in his own way. You can’t make people do anything that’s outside of their character or it doesn’t come across as genuine. I think Will does a really good job of staying true to who he is.
“I need Will to just be the best version of himself and he’s got a job to do as the leader of the offense as the leader of the football team. And I think he understands that.”
Levis will have more weapons this season with Calvin Ridley to go with DeAndre Hopkins at the top of the depth chart at wide receiver.
Now, it’s up to Levis to take another step.
“He’s very determined to improve his game,” Callahan said. “You have that part, you’ve got a chance to do a lot of really cool things. But I’ve seen that from him in this early portion. He’s front and center; he takes notes; he asks questions. He does all the things you’d want to see early in the process of a guy that’s trying to improve his game and get better.”