Falcons Trade Wide Receiver Calvin Ridley to Jaguars

Calvin Ridley’s troubled time with the Falcons came to an abrupt end with his being traded to Jacksonville.

Christopher Walsh | Nov 1, 2022

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The Atlanta Falcons have traded suspended wide receiver Calvin Ridley to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Tuesday was the NFL trading deadline. The deal was first reported by XLX10 Radio.

Ridley was a first-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, 26th overall. During his last full season with the Falcons, 2020, he had 90 receptions for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns, en route to being named a second-team All-Pro.

For his career, Ridley has 248 catches for 3,342 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Ridley was suspended for the 2022 season after he was found to be gambling on league games while sitting out part of last year for mental health reasons. He was seemingly considering retirement for a while as well.

At the time, the Falcons engineered a trade of him to the Eagles, but voluntarily pulled out of the deal because they found out that Ridley was about to get a one-year suspension for betting on NFL games.

However, the Falcons exercised his fifth-year option last year, making him a free agent following the 2023 season.

There was a possibility that Atlanta would bring him back, but with drafting Drake London with the No. 8 overall pick in this year's draft, bringing back Ridley was no longer a necessity for Atlanta.

NFL Network also reported that the compensation for Ridley is "complicated." He could be "at maximum" a fifth-round pick in 2023 and a second-round pick in 2024. For a player who can't play this season, that appears to be a good haul for Terry Fontenot and the Falcons' front office.

Judging by his reaction on Twitter, Ridley was pleased with the deal:

#DUUUVAL 😤😤
— CALVIN RIDLEY (@CalvinRidley1) November 1, 2022

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Published Nov 1, 2022

CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.

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