JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s starting to feel like home to Calvin Ridley.
He’s been making his way around town, eating at all the fish camps that have been recommended to him and stopping in at car washes and making conversation with people there.
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“It feels like home. It feels good,” Ridley said.
After nearly two years away from football, the new Jaguars receiver feels refreshed, focused and healthy for the first time in years. That’s good news for Ridley and the Jaguars, and bad news for opposing defenses if the former Alabama star can be the player he was before he stepped away from the Falcons for a break in 2021.
Of course, that mental health break turned into a yearlong exile after Ridley was suspended for the 2022 season after the league determined he placed bets on games while he was away from the team.
That’s the big question facing Ridley. What kind of player will he be in Jacksonville’s offense? How much rust will there be in his game? Will Ridley be the true No. 1 receiver the Jaguars have lacked since Allen Robinson in 2015? Robinson had 1,400 receiving yards that season, the second-highest total in Jacksonville history. When Ridley penned an open letter to The Players Tribune last month, he mentioned the type of production he was capable of.
The number Ridley mentioned — 1,400 yards.
“When I put that in, I know what I can do. What I meant by that, is this: I am a 1,400-yard type of player,” Ridley said. “… What I’m saying is that I am a 1,400-yard receiver with a broken foot. That’s what I’m saying. I know that I can make the plays and I know that I’m one of the better receivers in this league, that’s what I’m saying.”
Ridley met with the media this week for the first time since he was acquired by the Jaguars in a trade deadline deal last year. His excitement was obvious. When Ridley walked into the television studio, he went around to each person in the room, shook their hand and introduced himself.
Calvin Ridley came into the media room and introduced himself to all of the reporters. He’s grateful to be back in it. pic.twitter.com/Lw3ULVlvTt
— Cole Pepper (@ColePepper) April 19, 2023
The next step will be reintroducing himself to the rest of the NFL. Two years away from the game is a long time, but Ridley said he used it to get healthy.
“They say two years off, but what about the healing process that I got with the time off? What if I got faster? What if I got stronger?,” Ridley said.
“Obviously, I got wiser, so why can’t I be better? I kind of look at it like that. Obviously, two years off, I have the leg tightness. I got to go through all the crap. I see myself being a good player, I do.”
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said that Ridley has been a great addition to the team and to the locker room. While the offseason program just began, Lawrence said he’s been impressed with Ridley’s transition.
“He’s been awesome. He’s hungry. He’s excited to be here. He’s got the right attitude. I think that’s the biggest thing that I’ve noticed, then on the field, he’s a freak, just the way he runs routes, how explosive he is,” Lawrence said. “He has great hands, seems like he’s picking stuff up. Obviously, we just started, but it seems like he’s picking it up pretty quickly.”
Ridley said he wasn’t surprised to be traded by the Falcons, intimating that a fresh start was best for both sides. Ridley used his year-long suspension to, more than anything, get healthy. His time in Atlanta was marred by playing through injuries, the worst being a broken foot.
“I can’t lie, it took a while [to feel better]. I took the whole suspension,” he said. “I didn’t apply for an appeal; I didn’t do anything of that. I used the whole suspension to get myself, in every category, back to Calvin Ridley.”