Jacksonville Jaguars: Can Ridley Help Make Jags Relevant?

It wasn’t too long ago that the Jacksonville Jaguars were driving to win the game and go to the Super Bowl. From that moment on, it all seems to have gone downhill. The team has invested a lot into coaches, players, and draft picks and they still can’t turn up a winning season. The 2022 NFL season is halfway over and the Jags are currently 2-6, which is a familiar path. However, they’re not giving up and were one of the few teams to make a move at the trade deadline, trading for WR Calvin Ridley.

Ridley is a playmaker who adds explosiveness to an offense so Jacksonville hopes he’ll be the spark they need. So far it is a gamble as the wide receiver is suspended throughout the 2022 campaign. However, when he does come back, they’ll get a playmaker on the right side of 30 years old who has a lot of good football left in him. Unfortunately for fans, he’ll be a year removed from football activity and starting with a whole new team, playbook, and coaching system.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars have had the resources to add talent surrounding Calvin Ridley as well. They took Trevor Lawrence first overall. Christian Kirk, Marvin Jones Jr, and Zay Jones have tremendous upside and could benefit from another playmaker in-house. Travis Etienne looks like he’s exactly the running back they’d hoped he’d be. Again, that’s something that won’t come into play until next season, but who will still be there after free agency?

It’s not for a lack of trying, but Jacksonville can’t seem to figure out how to win football games. Urban Meyer couldn’t do it after a tremendous college career. Doug Marrone couldn’t turn the team around after having success at the college and NFL levels. Tom Coughlin joined the front office after leading the Giants to a Super Bowl, and even he couldn’t help turn the team around.

But the blame falls on the front office more than the players. That same team that played for the AFC Championship all those years ago was quickly disbanded to the highest bidder. Plenty of the players left in free agency. The focus shifted from the core players. The team went into sell mode almost immediately following the season. So whatever comes the Jacksonville Jaguars’ way is well deserved. Had they found ways to invest in the team years ago, they wouldn’t be blowing through resources now. Calvin Ridley is a shiny new toy for their offense, but let’s not act like they haven’t been here before.