Steve Wyche dropped a few pieces of news regarding the Falcons’ offseason Monday afternoon on NFL Network. Among the news was Wyche stating the Falcons are “likely” to trade star receiver, Calvin Ridley.
The Falcons have to create cap space to be mid-market shoppers in free agency. How? From NFL Now @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/Y8bb4Mnxb7
— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) February 28, 2022
Wyche notes the trade has two forces pushing it to a resolution — a clean break for both sides and a cap-saving move. Atlanta can save over $11 million if they trade Ridley. Less than a week ago, I wrote a piece on the Falcons being the most likely jersey Ridley puts on:
If Ridley returns to football, there are no guarantees he requests a trade or wants to play in a Falcons uniform. From our perspective, Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith are in limbo over this situation.
There has been no insight into what Ridley desires either way. The only shred of information we’ve heard from Ridley’s side is the now infamous tweet that he liked, which read: “I really hope the Miami Dolphins get Calvin Ridley.”
If you took the temperature of the situation through social media, you’d almost certainly come away with the conclusion that Ridley is going to be traded. However, Twitter and Facebook aren’t representative of reality.
The reality is the Falcons are the most likely landing spot, according to sportsbooks. At Bovada, Atlanta (-175) is still Ridley’s most likely destination for 2022. Top to bottom, Falcons’ leadership has been adamant about their desire for Ridley to return to the team, so it does make sense.
However, if the Falcons do end up trading Ridley, the Patriots (+325) are clear favorites to land him, followed by the Raiders (+600) and Cardinals (+600). The Falcons have a history with Bill Belichick, but the Mohamed Sanu trade was constructed by the old regime, so a new relationship will have to be made with the current one.
Here are the Ridley odds as of Friday morning:
- Falcons -175
- Patriots +325
- Raiders +600
- Cardinals +600
- Bears +700
- Cowboys +700
Given Wyche’s report, the prospect of Ridley returning to the Falcons seems as uncertain as it’s ever been since he stepped away from the team at the beginning of the 2021 season.
You must log in to post a comment.