Calvin Ridley
This is of course assuming his mental health is good and he is committed to football. If so, seems a perfect fit with Lawrence assending into top 10 QB range. I mean, look at how well Zay Jones has done this year and Ridley is way more talented. Plus, probably pretty cheap in drafts.
Ridley is a good call. My only concern if he makes it back both mentally and physically would be too many mouths to feed in that offense. Great for Trevor but not necessarily for Ridley’s fantasy value.
He's so head and shoulders better then anyone else they have I don't even remotely worry about the mouths to feed. He's going to explode.
He's also about to turn 29, and hasn't played football in a while. I'd be a little concerned about the other mouths to feed - but I do think he'll be worth significantly more in 2023 than he was in 2022, so appropriate for this topic for sure.
As an aside, if I were a Ridley shareholder, I would sell the second he steps on a field in 2023. I can't help but think there's another shoe to drop here - it was super suspicious at the time, and from his comments I didn't exactly get the impression that he thought he did anything wrong.
For the sake of accuracy, he just turned 28 (Born Dec 20, 1994)
I picked him up and rostered him in both my keeper leagues and my contract dynasty (guy dropped him because he needed the contract years). I'm taking the opposite viewpoint and would be trying to trade for him since he is probably pretty cheap still. Elite route runner who should thrive with Lawrence in a Doug Peterson offense.
Not really worried about him being out the last year plus. Hopefully, he had time to contemplate how fortunate he is to get another chance to make millions playing a game and takes full advantage.
We shall see
Fair.
Also fair is that NFL history is rife with knuckleheads who continue to be knuckleheads and do knuckleheaded things.
Exceedingly rare are the knucklehead redemption stories.
But it’s definitely possible that Ridley is the latter.
While the betting incident was definitey a "knucklehead" move, I don't think it was malicious. Not like he beat up somebody in a bar or rolled somebody on the street to steal their watch. I get the NFL had to hand out a punishment, but the year he got was kind of excessive when you consider other punishments that were less for more egregious acts (DeShawn Watson anyone).
Ridley’s “crime” was worse than watsons by a factor of 100
He gambled on a game in which he played.
It calls into question the integrity of every game in the sport, and IMO rather than being excessive, I’d say he was lucky to have not been banned for life.
Reasonable minds can disagree
He wasn't playing when he made the bets. But they did involve the Falcons games. I would agree with you 100 percent if he had played in the game.
Ridley placed the bets during a period spanning Nov. 23-28, at a time when the receiver was away from the team on the non-football illness (NFI) list. He needed a break from football to focus on his mental well-being, he
had written in an Oct. 31 statement.
Yeah, well, I’m not totally sure I believe that. There was a video compilation going around at the time that showed him actively trying to not score on sure-fire TD receptions - some of them preposterously inexplicable.
I believe he was gambling on games he played in - the evidence on the field seemed extremely clear. IMO that’s why they dropped the hammer on him.
I also believe his mental issues may have been “consciousness of guilt” or “anxiety that he was about to be exposed”.
It would be in the NFL’s best interest to sweep truly damning stuff under the rug, too, so what’s in the official statements can maybe be taken with a grain of salt.
I’m the complete opposite of a conspiracy theorist - but watching that dude completely beat coverage downfield and then inexplicably run backwards into a tackle seemed sus at the time, and then when it came out later that he’d gambled suddenly it made sense.
We don’t have to re-litigate it here, but I thought he deserved harsher than 1 year.
Wasn't the suspension "Indefinite, can apply for reinstatement after 1 year?" a
I feel like when it came out people were saying there was no guarantee he'd play again
He can apply in February for reinstatement and he will be reinstated. Unless it is proven he bet on games in which he played. Other than a couple u-tubers showing him "running backward" as proof he was trying to throw his yardage prop bets, nothing substantial. I looked at a few of the videos and it looks like every week NFL stuff of WRs trying for bigger plays by taking a step back. Nothing to see there
It wasn’t just running backwards to hit the under on prop bets.
The most egregious was a play I watched happen live and was yelling “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” at my television.
He had 2 defenders beat deep. All he had to do was *literally* keep running. The ball hit him in stride, 20-some yards from paydirt.
. The second he caught it, you KNEW it was a TD. He had 3 yards+ of separation on the closest defender.
Instead he inexplicably tried to cut backwards around the trailing defender, and was predictably, easily tackled.
It’s a play that no WR makes. Not in high school, not in college, and certainly not in the NFL.
And it was more than a couple - he left at least 5 touchdowns on the field. If you watch those plays it’s not even debatable that the only reason he didn’t score was because he didn’t want to score.
Again: I’m not a conspiracy theorist at all. But watching those plays, there is no other explanation than that he did not score because he did not want to.
You could see Ryan watching and shaking his head in disbelief. Every time.
It’s not just about yardage overs/unders. He was either shaving points or otherwise trying to impact the score. Film don’t lie.
Then the next thing ya know he’s out with mental issues, and *boom*, suspended for gambling.
He may well be reinstated. I’ll never touch him again.