The Tennessee Titans' signing of wide receiver Calvin Ridley started as a "pipe dream," according to general manager Ron Carthon. But eventually it happened, and it moved so fast that team owner Amy Adams Strunk found out about it through the NFL media — before Carthon even had a chance to tell her.
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"To show you how this world works now, we get the deal done, the deal gets agreed to," Carthon explained. "So, we're in the office, we're having a moment, and in this particular moment, it was myself, it was (assistant GM) Chad (Brinker), it was (head coach Brian Callahan) and (offensive coordinator) Nick Holz.
"So, we're high-fiving and bro-hugging and doing all that, and so we're like, 'hey, let's get Calvin on the phone, let's congratulate him.' So — literally, this is all happening within 90 seconds — we call Calvin, we're FaceTiming him and we're excited and he's excited and then my phone beeps and it's Mrs. Amy. And I pick up the phone and I'm like, 'Hello,' and she's like, 'Is this true?' And I'm like, 'Is what true?' And she was like, 'Did we just get Calvin Ridley?' And I'm like, what the hell? Is it out already? We're on the phone with him right now, congratulating him that we got this done."
From pipe dream to reality, GM Ran Carthon on how the Titans landed @CalvinRidley1 and the ensuing chaos 😂 pic.twitter.com/iyy5L4Oeg2
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) April 2, 2024
Carthon is right. NFL media often has a leg up on the team owners, being made of what will happen through player agents and other team execs. So the reports come out before people who work for — or actually own — the team can verify them.
Carthon did add he tried to keep Adams Strunk in the loop, but the signing was agreed on before he had a chance to connect with her.
But what matters here, of course, is that Ridley was signed and gives the Titans an NFL offseason in which to be at least a little excited.
Per AL.com:
"The bidding for Ridley's services was reported to be a two-team race between his 2023 club, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the New England Patriots. But after Tennessee jumped in, the Titans reeled in Ridley on March 13, even though it required a contract bigger than any of its other free-agent signings had received - a four-year, $92 million deal."
