Calvin Ridley is going to the Tennessee Titans, the most important part of the official start of free agency on Wednesday when teams started changing their rosters to try to beat the Kansas City Chiefs who have won the championship twice in a row.
Ridley — who was expected to sign again with the Jaguars — and the Titans have agreed on a four-year, $92 million contract with $50 million guaranteed, as told by someone who knows the details to The Associated Press.
Ridley will give the young Titans quarterback Will Levis another good player. He played in all 17 games for the Jaguars last season and had 76 catches for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns. However, Ridley has not always been so dependable. He missed most of the last two years because of a foot injury, a break for mental health, and a year-long suspension for gambling.
The Titans also added a experienced quarterback, they agreed with Mason Rudolph on a one-year contract, as told by another person familiar with the decision for the AP.
Also on Wednesday, the Washington Commanders continued building their defense by getting six-time Pro Bowl linebacker Bobby Wagner from Seattle.
Many of the best free agents available — including quarterback Kirk Cousins and running backs Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry — agreed to contracts during the two-day period leading up to the start of the league's new year.
Their contracts started a major reshuffling of backfields in 2024 with a dozen experienced QBs and more than a dozen veteran running backs changing teams.
And the Houston Texans continued their very fast rise from last place to top by getting perennial Pro Bowl edge rusher Danielle Hunter from the Vikings to play opposite AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson on Houston’s defensive line.
Hunter had a career-high 16 1/2 sacks last year. His deal is a $49 million, two-year contract with all but $1 million guaranteed, as told by someone who knows about the deal to the AP.
The Texans moved from worst to first by winning the AFC South last season and making it to the divisional round of the playoffs under first-year coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
After losing the AFC championship at home to the Chiefs, Baltimore made a big move in free agency by convincing Henry to leave the Titans.
The two-time NFL rushing champion joins a Baltimore team that always has one of the leading ground games in the league, and he will team up with MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Henry will be running behind a changed Baltimore offensive line. The Ravens have agreed to trade tackle Morgan Moses and a fourth-round draft pick to the Jets on Wednesday for New York's pick earlier in the fourth round and a sixth-round selection. Baltimore had already lost guard John Simpson to the Jets in free agency.
How much have the Ravens, Texans and others really closed the gap with the Chiefs, who have won three titles in the six seasons Patrick Mahomes has been their starter?
The champions did not stay the same during the free-agency excitement this week as general manager Brett Veach once again went against the tradition of champions losing important veterans to other teams.
Veach prevented All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones from leaving Kansas City by signing him to a five-year, $158.75 million contract. The contract was designed to only count $7.35 million against the cap this year.
Chiefs backup linebacker Drue Tranquill also agreed to a three-year, $19 million deal to stay before the official start of free agency on Wednesday, and defensive tackle Mike Pennel came back to the Chiefs with a one-year deal after performing well in their Super Bowl victory over the 49ers.
Additionally, Mahomes agreed to modify his contract to create more salary cap space.
The added flexibility might allow cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to stay in Kansas City. The Chiefs used the franchise tag on him, which would result in a one-year, $19.8 million deal, but many anticipated that they would ultimately trade Sneed for draft picks and cap relief.
Now, the Chiefs could retain him at the tag number or utilize their newfound flexibility to sign him to a long-term contract.
“There's not much of a sales pitch needed for Kansas City,” Tranquill stated on Wednesday. “You have remarkable leadership, from top to bottom. You have a winning culture that is not about egos or individual interests; we all want our guys to get paid, but everything at the Chiefs and in our organization is about winning, and it’s about lifting the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.”
Wagner, who will be 34 this summer, led the NFL with 183 tackles last season. He becomes the cornerstone of the Commanders’ defense under Dan Quinn and is another player the new coach is very familiar with. Wagner played two seasons for Quinn with the Seattle Seahawks in 2013 and ’14, winning a Super Bowl together in the process.
“Seattle, we’ve been through this before,” Wagner shared on social media, referring to leaving the Seahawks in 2022 for a season with the Los Angeles Rams before returning in 2023. “You know what it is. It’s always love. Until we meet again. I’m around.”
Signing Wagner is one of several changes Washington’s new general manager Adam Peters made after entering free agency with the most salary cap space in the league. Also joining are running back Austin Ekeler, veteran backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, tight end Zach Ertz, and several others.
Among other agreements on Wednesday, the Eagles held onto kicker Jake Elliott, the Browns retained punter Corey Bojorquez, and the Broncos re-signed fullback Michael Burton.
Teams had to be under the $255.4 million salary cap on Wednesday, which led to numerous restructures. One notable cap casualty was receiver Mike Williams, who was released by the Chargers in a move that freed up $20 million.
