(12-13-2023, 08:11 PM)Cleatwood Wrote:

(12-13-2023, 04:46 PM)Caldrac Wrote: I don't think it's rust. I think it's a lot more complicated and complex than just saying "Chopper, sick balls" or "Sick em' boy!" and he just goes and gets it done out there on a weekly basis. This has been an interesting offense all year. 

We've had a lot of inconsistencies, we've had a poor showing for the 2nd year in a row now with this offensive line unit, we're not getting the running game going and we've seen a lot of injuries hit the WR room now. Zay Jones got hurt, Jamal Agnew got hurt, now Christian Kirk is hurt. 

Not sure what all has been asked out of Ridley in this offense. Some people will say we're not moving him around enough or using him around the field enough like other quality offenses do with their best receiver on the football field. 

My biggest thing I'll keep going back to, is, who are you replacing him with in 2024? Whether it's with that 2nd RD pick or another free agency target? And, is it worth it? I know Tee Higgins' name keeps coming up. Again, I get the Lawrence to Higgins connection at Clemson. But, we're looking for a #1 WR, and that's not Higgins. Higgins benefits from having a true #1 in Chase. 

So, there's just a ton of things to consider and the good thing is that there's plenty of football left for a lot of this to be put to rest for good. We'll see soon enough.

Based on his play this year, will it really be that difficult to replace him?

This draft is loaded with WR talent. 

I would also be calling the Commanders about McLaurin, Raiders about Adams, Fins about Waddle, and Saints about Olave. Just to get a feel. Those are actual #1s. Adams is obviously much older than the other dudes but he is still elite and Raiders look to be in a rebuild.

But giving up draft capital and money to take a chance on a 30 year old receiver getting back to his elite form? Not sure I’m willing to do that.

Doesn't matter how much talent at WR the incoming draft class has, you still have to remember who the GM is.

Baalke can't draft WRs to save his life. Dude has been god awful at drafting WRs over his history.

I also don't see a rookie WR coming in here and duplicating what Ridley has done so far. Through 13 games, Ridley has 55 catches, 742 yards and 5 TD. Pretty sure he also leads the league in drawing DPI calls as well.

Do we really expect a rookie to come in and go for at least 65+ catches, nearly 1k or so yards and say 6 or 7 TDs? Sounds like we're setting up for expectation failure imo.

---