Pats lose out on WR Ridley
The Patriots aggressively pursued a new No. 1 wide receiver in free agency. He turned them away.
Ex-jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley is signing a 4-year deal worth up to $92 million, including $50 million guaranteed, according to the NFL Network. Ridley was reportedly picking between the Patriots and Jaguars, though Tennessee swooped in late to add the best wideout available in free agency. Ridley posted a 1,000-yard season last year, his first in Jacksonville after serving a season-long suspension in 2022.
The Patriots were not surprised to see Ridley land in Tennessee. They knew the Titans were in play, per a source. One team source acknowledged it’s a lot of money for the Titans to pay Ridley but “he’s a really good player who was a free agent at the right time.”
The top available pass catchers are now ex-chargers wide receiver Mike Williams, who was released Wednesday, ex-cardinals free-agent wide receiver Marquise Brown and Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, who was franchised and is seeking a trade.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has been mentioned as a trade target, but it doesn’t seem like the 49ers are in a hurry to trade him.
They did help themselves on the defensive side of the ball, signing ex-steelers defensive lineman Armon Watts to a 1-year deal worth up to $3 million, and also retained toutside linebacker Anfernee Jennings.
Watts, 27, was a rotational player in Pittsburgh, where he recorded 15 tackles, three QB hits and a half-sack in 15 games. He started his career as a sixthround pick of the Vikings in 2019 and posted five sacks and 46 tackles during a career year in 2021. Watts later moved on to Chicago, where he made a dozen starts but only produced one sack and two QB hits in 2022.
The 6-foot-5, 307-pounder figures to be a depth piece behind top defensive tackles Davon Godchaux and Christian Barmore. The Patriots released veteran defensive tackle Lawrence Guy earlier this offseason, after he spent seven seasons as a starter in New England.
Earlier, the Patriots and outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings have reached a 3-year, $12 million deal worth up to $24 million, a source confirmed to the Herald.
Jets: O-line help added
A familiar face is returning to the Jets offensive line. Sources confirm the Ravens will trade right tackle Morgan Moses to the Jets.
Baltimore will receive New York’s fourth-round pick (No. 112) and sixthround pick (No. 218). The Jets will receive Moses and the Ravens’ fourthround pick (No. 134).
Moses, 33, played for the Jets in 2021 in head coach Robert Saleh’s first season with the team. He started 16 games before signing a three-year, $15 million contract with the Ravens the following offseason. That year, Moses played 1,022 snaps for the Jets, allowing four sacks and committing four penalties.
Moses’ base salary of $5.5 million in 2024 makes him very affordable for the Jets at a significant position of need.
Meanwhile, one of the Jets‘ best players last year will return for the 2024 season. Punter Thomas Morstead has signed a two-year deal with the Jets worth more than $5 million.