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Former Alabama star Calvin Ridley excited to show Titans he still has it at wide receiver

Photo comes via USA Today Sports

The Tennessee Titans are ready to see what its big free agent pick up is about to do.

Tennessee went and got wide receiver Calvin Ridley on a four-year, $92 million deal.

He was suspended for the entire 2022 season as he was traded from the Atlanta Falcons to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ridley, a former first-round pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, served a one-year suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy. In his return to the field for Jacksonville in 2023, he recorded 76 catches for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns. Ridley has two 1,000-yard seasons in his career and made second-team All-Pro in 2020, but he is 29 years old.

He came out of Monarch High School (Coconut Creek, Fla.) older at 19, but Ridley was successful at the University of Alabama, winning two College Football Playoff National Championship in 2015 and 2017.

Ridley is excited to be a Titan and told reporters he feels 25 years old on the field.

“I will tell you this, I am 29 on paper but I am 25 for real,” he said. “It is not because of the two years I had off. The two years off did help, but I am like 25 years old for real. I am 25 years old in real life. I can run with the youngest, I can run with the oldest, and y’all are going to see it. I can run all day, I can play all day… I love football, man. This is all I have ever done.”

RELATED: Former Alabama star players receive numbers for new NFL teams

Tennessee gets one of the best route runners in the league who has something to prove. 

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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine.  You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.

Stephen Smith is a 2015 graduate of the University of Alabama. He is a senior writer and reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He has covered Alabama football for 10+ years and his knowledge and coverage of the Crimson Tide's program have made him among the most respected journalist in his field. Smith has been featured on ESPN and several other marquee outlets as an analyst.

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