The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ex-falcon Ridley reinstated after gambling suspension
Wide receiver Calvin Ridley was reinstated Monday by the NFL after his indefinite suspension for violating the league’s gambling policy.
Just hours before the trading deadline last year, the Falcons traded Ridley to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 1. They will now pick up the Jaguars’ fifth-round pick in the 2023 draft. It would have been a sixth-round pick if he was not reinstated.
The Falcons are also set to receive a 2024 draft pick that could be a fourth-rounder. It could turn into a third-rounder based on his performance or a second-rounder if he signs a contract extension. Ridley is set to play this season on the $11.1 million fifth-year option that he was slated to receive from the Falcons.
The league said Ridley, who had been suspended since March 2022 for violating the NFL’S gambling policy, is eligible to participate in all team activities beginning immediately. He is expected to join the Jaguars for offseason workouts beginning April 17. “Today’s reinstatement by the NFL brings an end to a challenging chapter of my professional career, one that was self-inflicted and began with an isolated lapse in judgment,” Ridley said in a statement. “I have always owned my mistakes, and this is no different.
“I have great respect for the game and am excited for the opportunity to restart my career in Jacksonville.”
Ridley left the Falcons midseason in 2021 to tend to his mental health. He was suspended for betting on games during a fiveday stretch in late November 2021 when he was away from the team, according to the NFL.
Ridley, the fifth player in NFL history suspended for gambling, did not appeal the suspension. He was allowed to apply for reinstatement Feb. 15.
Ridley was selected in the first round (26th overall) in the 2018 draft. He has 248 catches for 3,342 yards and 28 touchdowns over three-plus seasons.
Over his first three NFL seasons, Ridley’s career arc was ahead of Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison.
Ridley caught 217 passes in his first three seasons to Harrison’s 196 and had more receiving yards (3,061 to 2,478). But in 2021, Ridley’s fourth season, he played in only five games, and it was discovered later that he bet on NFL games.