The Calvin Ridley trade was an exercise in patience for the Atlanta Falcons. They received a fifth round pick last March after Ridley was reinstated from his suspension for gambling, and then waited to see how the 2023 season would play out. Ridley, as it turned out, hit the markers necessary to graduate a 2024 fourth round pick to a third round selection, and the Falcons still had a chance to nab a second rounder from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Unfortunately for Atlanta, that depended on the Jaguars signing Calvin Ridley to an extension before the new league year, a clause I don’t think Terry Fontenot will be including in any trades going forward.