:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72044232/usa_today_16884871.0.jpg "Calvin Ridley news: NFL reinstates Jaguars wide receiver from suspension")
The NFL announced on Monday that it has officially reinstated Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley. The wideout was suspended for the entirety of the 2022 season for gambling on games the year prior, being handed the punishment almost exactly one year ago to date.
Ridley last played during the 2021 season as a member of the Atlanta Falcons, where he was coming off a breakout All-Pro campaign the year prior. On October 31, he announced that he was stepping away from the organization to focus on his mental health and missed the remainder of the season. It was months later where the league determined though an investigation that he used a mobile device out of state to place multi-leg parlay bets on multiple games. The clear violation of the league's gambling policy triggered the year suspension. While sidelined during the 2022 campaign, Ridley was traded to the Jaguars for a pair of conditional picks in the 2023 and 2024 NFL Drafts.
The path is clear for Ridley to return to the field for the first time in two seasons and he could greatly benefit a Jaguars offense that began to click in the back half of the 2022 season. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence established a rapport with a stable of receiving weapons in Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Evan Engram throughout the year, getting to the AFC Divisional Round with those pass catchers making big plays. The addition of Ridley could put the Jags in a position to be one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, further elevating Lawrence as an elite QB in the league.