Titans' Callahan: Ridley will have 'similar role' as Bengals' Chase
Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan is preparing to deploy newly acquired wide receiver Calvin Ridley the same way the Cincinnati Bengals utilize star wideout Ja'Marr Chase.
"You're looking at a very similar role that Ja'Marr played in terms of his ability to move, move around the formation, use him in motion," Callahan told Kevin Clark of ESPN. "(Ridley has) got such a unique skill set. He's got great quickness, he's got great speed."
Callahan added: "I'm excited about that, finding where he fits. But if you looked at how we used Ja'Marr, there's gonna be some similarities in how we use Calvin."
Callahan was Chase's offensive coordinator in Cincinnati. The 24-year-old has been one of the NFL's most productive pass-catchers over the last three seasons, totaling 268 catches for 3,717 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns in 45 career games.
Ridley led the Jacksonville Jaguars in receiving yards (1,016) and touchdowns (eight) last year. He'll be tasked with helping a Titans air attack that ranked 29th in passing yards per game in 2023.
Ridley will be paired with quarterback Will Levis, who's set to enter his first season as the full-time starter after taking over the reins in Week 8 last year. Callahan expressed the importance of them getting on the same page.
"The time on task is important ... There's a million different things that go into the nuance of the routes and what the quarterback sees to what the receiver sees," he said. "The more conversations you have like that in the offseason, the more chances are that it just starts to happen when you play."
Callahan is taking over for Mike Vrabel after the Titans went 6-11 last season. The 39-year-old Callahan helped produce two top-10 scoring offenses in five years as the Bengals' offensive coordinator.
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