The idea of drafting a guy w/ the Rams pick has more benefit. The unknown of whether he turns out is not different from the unknown about Ridley’s incredibly opaque absence this year. With Ridley you really don’t know what you are buying, when normally in a trade you would.
The trade cost if it is basically the Rams pick is a wash.
The monetary cost with Ridley will be much greater, as no way you are giving up a 1st rounder and not predicating the trade on an extension. That extension will be nearlyn10 times what you will pay Drake London or whoever that pick is at that slot.
The big receivers to target are all getting dicey for me…Godwin injury, AR injury and suckness, Ridley’s mystery issue…not sure I want to plow $18m a year for many years into this group of available top WRs
Yeah, to clarify: I’m all for the idea of adding Ridley and giving him a shot here. I am NOT in favor of using a first-round pick to do it. Far too many unknowns to give up that kind of value.
Obviously if the Lions would be interested in making a move, they would meet with Ridley. He would have to be fully on board with everything and I’m sure they will get to the bottom of why he sat out. If this deal were to happen, I would have the utmost confidence that the staff did their due diligence and they have determined his mental wellness will not be an issue moving forward.
Give me the guy who is proven to be elite, vs the guy who may or may not be a good player. Also Brad Holmed came from the Rams where there was obviously a preference is acquiring star talent for draft picks. Now we are still rebuilding so that definitely factors into the equation, as we are not Calvin Ridley away from a championship.
I do believe Ridley takes this offense from being average to a top 10 unit.
As far as his contract is concerned, there are more then enough ways to structure it to protect us in the future. He has no off the field issues as far as character and we already know what he provides on the field. If he steps away from the game again, the Lions could recoup the majority of the money back.
Would the Rams 2023 pick and maybe out 3rd rounder this year be more apealling? Could still get a Edge guy, LB’er, and guy who can play 3-4 DE. and Mrcus Williams in FA.
Trade for Ridley, re-sign Walker, Sign Marcus Williams, and then in draft
Hutchinson
Lloyd/Dean
Drake Jackson
Big improvement and talent infusion is one season.
There is only one unknown with Ridley though, and that is why he felt the need to step away for his mental wellness. If the staff can get to the bottom of that and are comfortable with his reasoning, what else is there?
There is just as many unknowns when drafting a guy.
There were 6 WR’s drafted in the 1st in 2020
Ruggs
Jeudy
Lamb
Reagar
Jefferson
Ayuik
Ruggs NFL career is over, Jeudy has been solid when he isn’t injured, Lamb has been solid as well, but not elite, Reagar is looking like a bust, Jefferson is a stud, and Ayuik looked good as a rookie and been very inconsistent this year.
Out of 6 guys, Jefferson is the only one in the same category as Ridley. Jeudy and Lamb may get there, but that is not a guarantee.
??? Umm… the risk that this issue comes up again. That’s the only unknown that matters: if I make a huge investment in a player that just took a season off, will he actually be available to line up for the next couple years?
Maybe you’d feel comfortable deciding it’s no big deal after a conversation with the guy. For myself, I wouldn’t hand over a first-round pick for that amount of risk in any context. I’d be cool with offering big money as long as he’s OK with an incentive-laden contract that protects the Lions if he takes time off again.
My own personal experience tells me that this is a pie in the sky outlook. Your post is spot on all throughout, but in no way is it possible to predict this with any level of certainty.
Exactly. Ridley may be doing everything right to manage his mental health and prevent these kinds of problems from getting this severe again. And the Lions may totally believe that he’s doing all the right things to do that. That doesn’t mean this won’t come up again.
Any player who steps away mid-season for mental health reasons has a serious enough problem that it causes a giant red flag for me. I am all about getting healthy and taking care of the mental side. But without knowing more context, something seems very off here. He’s a talent, but I would be leery of him.
I would love to have 2020 Calvin Ridley on the Lions
2022 Ridley has just that year left on his deal. He will not have played for essentially a year because he was not any good when he played this year, little that he did.
So he would be a performance risk even with perfect mental health, which will absolutely not be the case. Plus new team, new city new region adjustments.
And if we secure his long-term, then it’s a 10x the money than that 2nd rd pick for the same time frame .
Pick 30 or 34 gets us a strong WR talent without the risks Ridley brings for 10% of the cost.
He was averging about 60 yards per game, and clearly dealing with something. I personally don’t see any performance risk at all. I understand the metal aspect of it and I defnitely understand the financial impications of a late first vs a 16mil AAV contract.
I won’t sit here and say the Lions are dumb if they don’t make this move, because we don’t know where this guy is at mentally. I have more then enough faith in Campbell and Holmes to do their due diligence if interested and if we actually made the move I would trust that they truly believe those issues are behind him.
Assuming his mental health checks out, I am fully on board with the Rams first or our second. Ridley adds a surefire playmaker to this offense and is a perfect compliment to what we have. He is what teams hope Jameson Williams will be.
We need game changing talent and this would be a chance to get it at a discounted price.
Get up earlier and go to bed earlier to get yourself some quiet time… Sometimes she’ll want it and you’ll have to pull a double, but first world problems…