Ridley Applies for Reinstatement, Jags Betting Odds In Limbo

• Suspended wide receiver Calvin Ridley has applied for reinstatement to the NFL on Wednesday, his first day eligible to do so
• Before being suspended, Ridley was coming off the best season of his career with 90 receptions, 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns
• Ridley’s new quarterback Trevor Lawrence has thoroughly impressed under the tutelage of Doug Pederson

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley has submitted his application to be reinstated to the NFL following the first year of his indefinite suspension for gambling on games. Now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ridley will look to be a top contributor on one of the league’s most exciting young teams.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will make his decision in the following days about Ridley’s status in the league. Legal betting sites have expressed confidence in his reinstatement following similarly encouraging statements from Jaguars GM Trent Baalke and HC Doug Pederson.

What Does Ridley’s Reinstatement Mean for the Jaguars and Falcons?

Following his career-best year in 2020, Ridley played just five games in 2021 before citing mental health issues that saw him take a hiatus from football. Ridley was suspended for gambling on NFL games shortly after, and has remained since.

At the trade deadline in November of 2022, the Jacksonville Jaguars would send two draft picks that can become at best a 2023 fifth rounder and 2024 second rounder if all conditions are met. The 2023 pick is guaranteed to be a fifth rounder while the 2024 pick begins as a fourth round selection and will become a third if Ridley plays enough games throughout the season or a second round pick if he is resigned.

While the Falcons anxiously await the outcome of the 2024 pick, the Jaguars look to add Ridley to a wide receiver room that was one of the biggest surprises of last season.

The Jaguars signed an almost entirely new receiving core this past offseason for budding QB Trevor Lawrence including Christian Kirk (4 year $72 Mil), Zay Jones (3 year $24 mil), and Evan Engram (1 year $9 mil). All of their new signings proved to be invaluable, with each of the three registering career-highs in catches and receiving yards.

Now mixing in one of the best route runners in the NFL that is known for creating QB-friendly separation should work wonders for the Jaguars offense as well as allowing Trevor Lawrence to improve even more.

Despite the Jaguars finishing as a middle-of-the-pack passing offense, they followed the bye week by winning six out of seven games, capturing an AFC South title, and giving NFL fans a very memorable and improbable 27-point comeback spectacle in the NFL playoffs before narrowly losing out to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

With a full offseason in Doug Pederson’s system as well as the potential to boast one of the best receiving cores in the league, Lawrence and the Jags are poised to be the AFC South favorite on legal sportsbooks as well as a title contender.

News tags: Atlanta Falcons | Calvin Ridley | Christian Kirk | Doug Pederson | Evan Engram | Jacksonville Jaguars | Kansas City Chiefs | NFL | Roger Goodell | Super Bowl | Trent Baalke | Trevor Lawrence | Zay Jones