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New York Jets: Stevan Ridley a steal despite questions

By Kevin Parvizi

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While most people wanted to see the New York Jets give Chris Ivory a running back partner with a less similar skill-set, their decision to sign Stevan Ridley has to be seen as a rousing success, especially after financial details of the deal were divulged yesterday. Ridley, who is coming off of a torn ACL in the 2014 season, was forced to a sign a one-year, prove-it deal, and while we knew it was going to be a cheap contract, I don’t think anybody anticipated the Jets snagging a bargain of this magnitude.

According to the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin, Ridley will make a meager $1.25 million this upcoming season with an even more modest $80,000 in guaranteed money. For context, he’s making less per year than Trent Richardson, Bilal Powell, and DeAngelo Williams. But the real kicker is the fact that he’s guaranteed less than most players on their rookie contract, Matt Asiata, T-Rich, and Darren McFadden.

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Essentially, the Jets are paying next to nothing for a guy who once had 1,263 yards in his breakout 2012 season as an integral part of a balanced, high-paced, and prolific New England Patriots offense. Before Bill Belichick almost laughably exaggerated his fumbling issues by constantly benching Ridley, the former LSU standout was an integral part of the offense and kept things churning on the ground. Had he stayed healthy last year, I wonder where he’d be right now, because, based on his contract with the Jets, it sure as heck seems like the Pats didn’t want him back.

In my book, the fact that Ridley is coming off of an injury wasn’t his biggest weakness on the open market, nor was it his fumbles, which are barely even an issue (he’s lost six fumbles in his four-year career thus far). No, his biggest weakness is the fact that he offers absolutely nothing in the passing game, as evidenced by a career-high ten receptions in 2013.

The Jets are getting a running back who is capable of being a feature back in this league, because the most important general adjective that can be used to describe a back can be aptly applied to him: “consistency”. Ridley is a workhorse whose only real injury was last season’s ACL tear, and he can pound the ball up the gut in short-yardage situations or put up chunks of yardage around the outside. In 2012 and 2013, he averaged a solid 4.4 and 4.3 yards per carry respectively with a whopping 19 combined touchdowns.

Like Ridley, Ivory is capable of putting the ball into the end zone at will, and he’s also an incredibly consistent rusher. Of course, Ivory is a more talented rusher, because he’s equally strong on inside runs and even more dangerous/explosive when getting to the outside. The only issue with Ivory is health, so Stevan Ridley can be seen as an attempt on the Jets part to give themselves an excellent handcuff back for the former New Orleans Saints backup.

Ivory is locked in as the team’s starting running back, but I would be surprised if the New York Jets don’t give Ridley the second-most carries on the team. They need to figure out what they’ll do on passing downs, though Powell is made for that sort of a role.

Ridley’s roster spot is far from guaranteed, because the Jets could basically cut him without any consequences, as $80,000 is almost meaningless in the grand scheme of things, especially in comparison to an overall salary of $1.25 million. Even that salary barely moves the meter, which means that Ridley should easily be worth more than that to the Jets.

As long as he’s healthy, he can be an effective partner for Ivory, and while he isn’t versatile, both he and Ivory are more than good enough to make their similar playing styles work in tandem (as long as the Jets have another back to handle passing-down duties).

It’s almost ridiculous how little money Ridley will make next season, because it’s crazy to think that a back who once had over 1,200 yards in a season and was viewed as an ascending talent at the position in his first season as a starter has a chance at not breaking $100,000 on this contract.

Sep 14, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley (22) rushes against the Minnesota Vikings in the first quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. The Patriots win 30-7. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

I think there are a lot of people who don’t understand how good of a rusher Ridley was during his time in New England, and the Jets decision could be rewarded big-time. It will be interesting to see if they decide to draft a faster back in the draft, because that could set up a competition between Ivory and Ridley.

The Ridley signing isn’t a perfect addition by any means, but it’s $80,000 in guaranteed money.

Are you really going to complain about that when the player in question had over 1,200 yards and exactly 12 TDs in the lone season he was handed the feature back gig?

Next: Jets: The case for Vic Beasley

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