3 teams that need to send Calvin Ridley trade offers to the Falcons right now
By John Buhler
The Atlanta Falcons need to get out ahead of this and trade Calvin Ridley this offseason.
After four years with the Dirty Birds, it certainly feels like wide receiver Calvin Ridley has played his final game in an Atlanta Falcons uniform.
The former first-round pick out of Alabama only played in five games with the Falcons this past season. He cited mental health issues as the reason he has not suited up for the Falcons since Oct. 24. Because Atlanta did extend him the fifth-year option, he will be under contract for the 2022 NFL season for whatever team he ends up playing for. Ridley will hit free agency in winter 2023.
Because he is younger, Atlanta should be able to get more than what it got for Julio Jones in the high-profile trade last spring with the Tennessee Titans.
Calvin Ridley trade rumors: 3 teams who should call the Atlanta Falcons now
AFC. Indianapolis Colts. 3. Pick Analysis. South. player. 46. Scouting Report
The Indianapolis Colts need a boost at receiver, but what do they have to give up?
It has been seven years since the Indianapolis Colts last won the AFC South. While they have made the playoffs a handful of times since 2014, quarterbacking instability has kept this strong franchise from being a top-four team in the AFC for the better part of a decade. Assuming Carson Wentz is back in Indianapolis as a starter for another season, the Colts need to get him a weapon.
Trading Ridley to the AFC certainly makes things easier for the middling NFC South team. While some Colts fans are optimistic Michael Pittman Jr. will be great at some point, this offense starts and ends with Jonathan Taylor in the backfield. Because T.Y. Hilton has not been an elite downfield playmaker in sometime, the Colts could use a boost in their receiving corps to best help out Wentz.
The problem here is Atlanta will command a first-round pick or a Pro Bowl-caliber player who can help the team in its rebuild. Indianapolis is clearly in win-now mode, but the Colts do not own their first-round pick, as the conditional second-rounder became a first-rounder in the deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, as Wentz played more than 75 percent of the Colts’ offensive snaps in 2021.
There is a need in Indianapolis for a player like Ridley, but Atlanta might get a better offer for him.