ATLANTA — The soon-to-be-Kirk-Cousins-having Falcons should also have a little news on Wednesday that ties up the last loose end on the Calvin Ridley saga that began almost exactly two years ago.
Barring anything weird or extraordinary, Ridley's free agent status will take effect and the Falcons will know their final compensation from the trade that sent the star wide receiver to the Jaguars in November 2022.
That trade was made eight months after he was suspended for the entirety of the 2022 season over betting on games. At the time, it sent Atlanta a 2024 conditional fourth-round pick and a 2023 conditional sixth-round pick that became a fifth-rounder when Ridley was reinstated from his suspension (the Falcons used that pick to trade for CB Jeff Okudah, who is reportedly leaving to sign a deal with Houston; Detroit sent the pick to Green Bay and it became receiver Dontayvion Wicks with the 159th pick if you really want to close the loop there).
So what's happening with the 2024 Jaguars pick the Falcons are getting?
It goes one of two ways, one of them far more likely at this point than the other.
First, the pick became a guaranteed second or third-rounder, instead of a fourth-rounder, when Ridley exceeded 75 catches (he had 76) and/or 1,000 yards (he had 1,016) for Jacksonville last season.
The second provision is that it would be a higher second-round pick if Ridley signs an extension with Jacksonville -- and there's the real catch.
At 4 p.m. on Wednesday, NFL free agency begins. At that point, the second-rounder will be off the table and the Falcons will be set to receive a third-rounder.
Even if Ridley stays with Jacksonville, the incentive is for the Jaguars to let him officially become a free agent, then sign a new deal, so they send Atlanta the third instead of the second. Unless a highly unexpected Ridley contract extension is announced before the 4 p.m. deadline tomorrow, the Falcons will receive the third-rounder.
According to the 2024 Draft order, that pick will be the 79th of the draft.
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