Agents – Titans to sign WR Calvin Ridley to 4-year, $92M deal

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Wide receiver Calvin Ridley is signing a four-year, $92 million contract, including $50 million guaranteed, with the Tennessee Titans, agents David Mulugheta and Reza Hesam told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday.

Ridley joins DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks as second-year quarterback Will Levis' top pass catchers.

Tennessee also agreed to a one-year contract with former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, a source confirmed to ESPN. Rudolph's deal is worth up to $3.62 million according to NFL Network, which was first to report the news. Rudolph will compete with third-year quarterback Malik Willis for the backup role behind Levis. The Titans are 1-2 in Willis' three career starts.

After returning from a season-long 2022 suspension for violating NFL gambling policy, Ridley caught 76 passes for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns for the Jaguars in 2023. The season opener against the Colts of Indianapolis marked 23 months between games for Ridley.

He said in January that he wanted to return to the Jaguars in 2024 because of the relationships he had made and the prospect of not having to learn another offensive system, but he wasn't sure if that would happen , adding that money would be a factor. .

Ridley, 29, was suspended for the 2022 season after an investigation found he bet on NFL games over a five-day period in November 2021 while away from the Atlanta Falcons . In a series of tweets after the suspension, Ridley admitted to betting a total of $1,500, but said he did not have a gambling problem.

Despite the ban, the Jaguars acquired Ridley in a trade with the Falcons on November 1, 2022 – sending a fifth-round pick in 2023 and a conditional pick in 2024. Ridley received a guaranteed amount of $11.116 million. dollars in 2023 for the fifth year. option on the rookie deal he signed after being drafted 26th overall by the Falcons in 2018.

Since the Jaguars did not re-sign Ridley after the start of the new league year, they will send a third-round pick to the Falcons to complete the terms of the 2022 trade that brought Ridley to Jacksonville . Had they signed Ridley before the end of the 2023 league year, they would have owed the Falcons a second-round pick.

Ridley was reinstated on March 6, 2023. Two days later, Ridley wrote in an article for The Players' Tribune that playing NFL games was the “worst mistake” of his life.

He also said he played with a foot injury in 2020, was misdiagnosed with a bone bruise and ultimately had surgery a few months before the start of training camp in 2021. Ridley said he was mentally exhausted due to the injury and was also dealing with anxiety related to a break-in at his home, which is why he ultimately left the match on October 31, 2021, claiming he had to focus on his mental health.

Ridley had 248 catches for 3,342 yards and 28 touchdowns in 49 games with the Falcons, including 90 catches for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns in 2020.

Rudolph, who was chosen by the Steelers in the third round of the 2018 draft, spent most of his career in Pittsburgh as a backup before helping the Steelers to the playoffs with three starts to finish the 2023 regular season.

In those games, the Steelers offense averaged 27 points per game and 387 yards of offense, and Rudolph threw three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Prior to 2023, Rudolph's first extended stint as a starting quarterback came in 2019, when he took over the job following Ben Roethlisberger's season-ending elbow injury. Rudolph appeared in 10 games that season, starting eight, and threw 13 touchdowns to nine interceptions. It was a tumultuous season for Rudolph, who suffered a concussion in his first start, was nearly hit by Myles Garrett swinging at Rudolph's helmet, was benched for UDFA rookie Devlin “Duck” Hodges and ultimately ended the season on injured reserve.

But when he took over the starting job from Kenny Pickett in 2023, his teammates and coaches praised Rudolph's maturity and commitment to work.

“I think when you go through that – everything from being thrown around and then losing consciousness for a while to then encountering adversity later in the year in Cleveland and then being put on the bench bench – I think it’s not fun,” Rudolph said. in December. “It's hell while you're going through it, but when you step back and breathe, and I'm 28, I'm just super grateful that this happened. I think everything happens for a reason, but who wants to live a life without adversity and always win? It teaches you lessons and prepares you for life after football.

During his career, Rudolph totaled 3,085 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 21 games.

ESPN's Michael DiRocco and Brooke Pryor contributed to this report.