Calvin Ridley will play in 2022 on fifth-year option, set to hit free agency in 2023

The Falcons’ offseason has had a relatively slow start, but that’s to be expected as the playoffs have yet to conclude. However, there’s no shortage of rumors and speculation regarding the myriad of situations on Terry Fontenot’s plate. He’s facing big decisions regarding his upcoming free agents, a few bloated contracts, and the impending draft.

One of the biggest stories and decisions for this offseason is the future of Calvin Ridley. It’s safe to say that Fontenot and the Falcons want the former All-Pro back in 2022, but it might not happen. Much like they wanted Julio Jones in Arthur Smith’s offense, things don’t always work out perfectly, and you don’t always get what you want. We’ll just have to wait and see, but we do have some clarity on Ridley’s status.

If he plays in 2022, Ridley will be playing on his fifth-year option. His contract won’t toll because he needed six games of service to prevent his non-football injury (NFI) status from costing him the entire year. Even though he only played in five games, he was actually rostered for seven and inactive for two of them.

So, in summary, whichever team Ridley plays for in 2022 will be paying him $11.116 million, and he’ll become an unrestricted free agent in 2023 if he doesn’t sign an extension.

This makes Ridley a bit less valuable to other teams inquiring about trading for him. If any team does acquire him, they’ll likely have to extend him, which will not be cheap. The Falcons probably won’t be in a position to offer any wideout a deal worth $17-20 million per year following this next season, so that will be a consideration when trade offers for Ridley come rolling in.