Former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended for the entire 2022 season after he was caught gambling on NFL games back in 2021. Ridley, a first-round pick in 2018, was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars just a few hours before the 2022 NFL trade deadline.
On Wednesday, Ridley became eligible for reinstatement, and according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the former Alabama wideout wasted no time in applying.
Jaguars’ WR Calvin Ridley, who was suspended one season after being accused of betting on games in November 2021 while he played with the Falcons, is in fact applying to the NFL today for reinstatement, per source. Today is first day Ridley can apply, and he’s wasting no time.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 15, 2023
Ridley had three productive seasons in Atlanta and was expected to take another jump in 2021 with Julio Jones no longer on the team. That didn’t happen, obviously, and once the suspension was handed out, it made sense for both parties to go their separate ways.
In return for Ridley, the Falcons landed a 2023 fifth-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2024. The conditions of the 2024 pick are as follows.
- Ridley makes Jags’ roster = 4th-round pick
- Ridley hits season incentives = 3rd-round pick
- Jags extend Ridley = 2nd-round pick
Ridley‘s best season came in 2020 when he finished with 90 catches for 1,374 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. The former Alabama star ended his Falcons tenure with 248 catches, 3,342 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns over four seasons.
The Jaguars made the playoffs in 2022, and Jacksonville could be the perfect landing spot for Ridley to resurrect his once-promising career. And for Falcons fans, the better Ridley does, the better Atlanta’s conditional 2024 draft pick becomes.
