Doug Pederson tells struggling Calvin Ridley to 'take a deep breath'

Calvin Ridley was itching to get back to football, since he’d missed so many games the past two seasons. And after a spectacular debut with the Jaguars, the wide receiver is dropping passes and committing penalties.

It’s not so much a lack of focus for Ridley. In fact, he might be too focused. That’s why coach Doug Pederson grabbed him when he was coming off the field Sunday.

“I reiterated to him to take a deep breath, stay locked in, stay engaged,” Pederson told reporters this week. “I told him he was a big part of our system and the offense. And he’s going to have a lot of success. I just wanted to reiterate that confidence in him. Calvin wants to do so well, so good, so much. He wants to prove, but he doesn’t have to. He’s a good player and he doesn’t have to do all that. Just be Calvin.”

But which is the real Calvin Ridley? He caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown in Jacksonville’s 31-24 season-opening victory against Indianapolis. But then in the next two games, both unexpected Jaguars losses, he’s managed a total of five catches for 72 yards.

All the lights were blinking red after Sunday’s game, a 37-17 home loss to the Houston Texans. In the first half, Calvin Ridley committed two false starts and dropped a couple of passes, including a potential touchdown, thrown by Trevor Lawrence.

Calvin Ridley probably isn’t only Jaguar who needs deep breath

The Jaguars, a team on the rise after last season, are stumbling to start the year. And in their loss Sunday, Jacksonville had four first-half drives that got past midfield. Yet three of the drives ended with a missed field goal and one that was blocked and a fumble.

“A big part of our problem is we’re in our own way,” center Luke Fortner told reporters. “We all know and believe we can be a really great offense. We are trying so hard to put that into action and make that come true that if we would just go out and play how we know we can play, we’d be better off.”

So it’s not only Ridley who needs to take a deep breath. But he’s a good place to start. Ridley took a leave from football, Oct. 31, 2021, to focus on his mental health. The NFL then suspended the former Alabama star for all of last year for gambling violations.

Statistically, Calvin Ridley’s focus issues might’ve started in the second half of the first game. Since then, Lawrence has thrown his way 18 times. He’s caught six of the passes.

Maybe a change of scenery will help Ridley and the Jaguars. They’ll play the Falcons Sunday morning in London. In the meantime, those who play fantasy football are dropping him out of their lineups.