Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley made one thing very clear: he doesn’t need to shake off rust. He expects to contribute right away to a winning team.
The Jaguars traded for Ridley on Nov. 1 despite his then-ongoing suspension. Ridley played only five games in the 2021 season due to injury and missed the entire 2022 season after being dealt a suspension for violating the league’s gambling policy.
He hasn’t played in an NFL game since October 2021, but Ridley doesn’t expect his time away from the game to slow him down.
“Everybody wants me to be rusty, right? Why? Why do you want me to be rusty?” Ridley said. “I can play football. No, I’m never going to think I’m going to be rusty.”
He said he was sore, and he owned up to dropping the football but said it wasn’t because of rust. While he doesn’t think he needs time to shake off the rust, he did recognize training camps can be a challenge.
“This is probably one of the hardest training camps I’ve ever been in,” Ridley said. “I know I got to continue to work, to get better, and be dominant come game one.”
Ridley is confident in his abilities and has believed he was a top receiver in the game since his rookie year, he said. When he referred to himself as “him” in an interview last week, he wasn’t putting on a show for the media, he said.
Ridley simply wanted to show his confidence in and respect for himself, he said. And he expects to use his talents to help the Jaguars this season.
“Obviously, we have a really good team, and I think we could be a great team,” Ridley said. “I’m here to help the team win and use my skills to help them.”
Ridley has expectations for the team but also credited some of his teammates for challenging him and elevating the team as a whole.
He said he appreciates competing against cornerback Tyson Campbell, who gives him hard reps. He’s excited about quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but he wants to “keep it low-key” and focus on doing his part. And he appreciates head coach Doug Pederson for running a camp that’s pushing Ridley more than usual.
“It’s like when I played for Alabama,” Ridley said. “It’s good; it’s going to transition into the games; it’s going to help us.”
