Jaguars camp report: Calvin Ridley gives fans a thrill with pair of leaping receptions
Calvin Ridley was easily the star of the Jaguars' first practice of training camp Wednesday at the Miller Electric Center.
Ridley appeared to go at full speed in all drills, cutting sharply and quickly. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said during OTAs and mandatory minicamp that he wanted Ridley to take it slow since he had not played since the 2021 season — during which he played only five games because of a broken foot.
The highlight reel began after drills during two periods of 7-on-7 and 11-on-11.
In the first team period, he went high to snare a pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrence, with Chris Claybrooks defending. Claybrooks had good position but there was little he could do to match Ridley's leaping ability.
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Then, in an 11-on-11 period, Ridley made a similar leaping catch of a pass thrown by C.J. Beathard, with Montaric Brown watching — and a bit helpless.
In both cases, Ridley got enthusiastic applause and cheers from the Jagaurs' fans, who were watching their first training camp practice since 2021.
The Jaguars ran only 26 plays in the two team periods, two of them runs. But Ridley perhaps gave the fans enough of a sneak peek to realize he was worth the wait after the Jags signed him in 2022 and had to wait until his suspension by the NFL for gambling was lifted.
Practice notebook
Weather: Sunny, 78 degrees at the start of practice, 83 degrees at the end.
Duration: One hour, 27 minutes, shorts and helmets.
Injuries: The Jaguars put defensive end Dawuane Smoot on the PUP (physically unable to perform list) on Wednesday morning, joining offensive guard Ben Bartch. Other than that, there were no reported injuries from the team's conditioning tests, which is where linebacker Devin Lloyd got hurt last year.
Offense notes
Lawrence completed eight of 10 passes in the two team periods, using five receivers. His best throw was a nice touch pass over the middle to Tim Jones, after a fake to Travis Etienne. Beathard and Nathan Rourke were both 6 of 7 but Rourke's incompletion was a sloppy overthrow to Qadree Ollison on a screen pass.
Rookie tight end Brenton Strange made a good pass-block to give Lawrence time to hit Ridley on a pass.
Etienne made a diving catch with Lloyd defending on the first 7-on-7 play. However, earlier in the practice, he dropped a ball thrown by Rourke in a passing drill with tight ends and running backs. On the other side of the field, Lawrence and Beathard threw to the wide receivers, without the ball hitting the ground.
Defense notes
Cornerback Tyson Campbell got his hands on a Lawrence pass but couldn't hold on while making a diving attempt.
Outside linebacker Josh Allen would have had a sack on Lawrence if the play was live.
Special teams notes
Punter Logan Cooke averaged 45.0 yards on nine punts, moving the ball around from corner to corner and applying different types of spin. Despite getting wobbly and end-over-end kicks, the returners did not fumble.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars camp report: Wide receiver Calvin Ridley provides two big catches
