Before Trent Baalke made the decision to trade for wide receiver Calvin Ridley on Tuesday, the Jaguars general manager did his homework on the former Falcons receiver.
Baalke spent roughly four months conducting interviews with people close to Ridley as well as undertaking complex negotiations before acquiring the suspended receiver. In fact, the discussions between Jaguars coach Doug Pederson and Baalke regarding the acquisition of Ridley began in March as the franchise was searching for a quality wideout.
Instead of trying to trade for Ridley at that time, the Jaguars signed Christian Kirk on a four-year, $72 million deal and Zay Jones on a three-year, $24 million pact. However, Baalke never lost sight of Ridley.
