Arthur Blank says Falcons want Ridley back if he wants to return

The Atlanta Falcons shipped out All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones last offseason, which made sense as Calvin Ridley was coming into his own and the team was short on salary cap space.

After a career year in 2020, Ridley looked poised to enter the elite discussion as the Falcons’ unquestioned No. 1 option in 2021. Things didn’t work out that way, however, and the former first-round pick ended the season on the non-football injury list.

Ridley’s future with Atlanta is in question but team owner Arthur Blank says the Falcons want Ridley back, the team’s digital managing editor, Scott Bair, reported on Wednesday. Blank also left the door open on potentially moving Ridley if the wideout prefers a fresh start.

“We love the young man,” Blank said. “He has had a great history in Atlanta. We’d love him to stay in Atlanta. Whether or not he wants to do that — he may decide that he wants a fresh start someplace else. We don’t know that. I don’t know that. I don’t have information to indicate that, but we’ll see how that plays out.

“We’ve been totally supportive in every way that we can be, both emotionally and financially in working with him as well as his agent. We’ll see, but I’m mostly concerned about him as a human being.”

Ridley recently liked, then unliked, a post from a fan on Twitter suggesting the Dolphins should acquire him. There’s really not much else to the story at this point.

If Ridley wants out, it sounds like the team will comply. And if not, Atlanta could definitely use him. Currently, Ridley and Frank Darby are the only two Falcons receivers under contract for 2022.

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