Calvin Ridley reportedly will be playing for a new team when he returns to NFL game action next season.
The Atlanta Falcons traded Ridley to the Jacksonville Jaguars a little over an hour before the league’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline Tuesday, as first reported by 1010 XL’s Mia O’Brien. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport followed up with details about the unexpected move.
“The #Falcons are trading WR Calvin Ridley to the #Jaguars, sources say, in exchange for complex draft compensation that can be worth at maximum a 2023 5th rounder and a 2024 2nd rounder,” Rapoport tweeted. “Ridley is suspended through at least the 2022 season.”
The NFL back in March issued a season-long suspension to Ridley for betting on NFL games, including some played by the Falcons, in the 2021 campaign. The 2018 first-round pick also stepped away from the Falcons during that season to focus on his mental health. In his last true season in 2020, Ridley caught 90 passes for 1,374 yards with nine touchdowns for an Atlanta team that went 4-12.
The Jaguars, who sit at 2-6 entering Week 9, needed better wide receiver talent around franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Ridley probably is in line to enter the 2023 season as Jacksonville’s top wideout ahead of Christian Kirk and Zay Jones.
The Falcons, meanwhile, have fared pretty well in Ridley’s absence this season. Atlanta (4-4) sits atop the NFC South standings going into Sunday’s home matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.
