The Jacksonville Jaguars still have not had contact with newly acquired Calvin Ridley and aren’t allowed to have contact with the suspended wide receiver under the NFL rules.
But the Jaguars have been assured that Ridley is working out as if he had a game Sunday and will be ready to roll once reinstated, sources told ESPN.
Ridley hasn’t played in an NFL game since Oct. 24, 2021, and is suspended for the entire 2022 season after an investigation found that he bet on NFL games over a five-day stretch in November 2021.
Despite the season-long suspension, the Jaguars traded a 2023 fifth-round draft pick and a 2024 conditional fourth-round selection to the Atlanta Falcons for Ridley before this past Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline. The conditional pick could become a third-rounder if Ridley reaches certain incentives in 2023, or it could become a second-rounder if he’s signed to an extension.
The Jaguars cannot talk to Ridley until after he is reinstated, but they believe he will be worth the wait. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said this past week that he thinks Ridley will be “rejuvenated” by a “fresh start” in Jacksonville, while general manager Trent Baalke emphasized the organization is “confident in the work that we did and we feel very good about the decision to trade for Calvin.”
In Ridley, the Jaguars have landed a player that, as recently as last year, one NFL head coach described to ESPN as “the best wide receiver in the league.” The former first-round pick can apply for reinstatement on Feb. 15, 2023.