Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley applied for reinstatement Wednesday from his indefinite suspension, according to multiple reports.
Ridley, 28, received the punishment during the 2022 offseason while he was a member of the Atlanta Falcons after a league investigation found he gambled on NFL games during the 2021 season. While the league found that Ridley bet during a time when he was on the non-football injury list and that he used no inside information to make his wager, he was ineligible to play in 2022.
Despite his unavailability, the Jaguars traded to acquire Ridley in October 2022 with a complicated trade package that is dependent on his reinstatement and his future in Jacksonville.
While there’s no official timetable for how long Ridley’s reinstatement could take, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said the team “feels strongly” that he’ll be cleared expeditiously. Ridley has also made it clear that he’s excited to be reinstated.
Ridley family is overly ready 🙏🏾 ❤️
— CALVIN RIDLEY (@CalvinRidley1) February 15, 2023
Ridley was the Falcons’ first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and caught 248 passes for 3,342 yards and 28 touchdowns in four years with the team. During a career-best 2020 season, Ridley recorded 90 receptions for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns.
While he’s now 16 months removed from his last time on an NFL field, Ridley is reportedly keeping in “peak shape” and has teased his Jaguars debut with workout videos on social media.
