Titans wideout Calvin Ridley discusses 2022 suspension, lessons learned during his time away from football Criss ParteeAugust 29, 2025 at 11:33 PM Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been through a lifetime's worth of drama over the past few years.
- - Titans wideout Calvin Ridley discusses 2022 suspension, lessons learned during his time away from football
Criss ParteeAugust 29, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been through a lifetime's worth of drama over the past few years.
As Ridley prepares for his second season with the Titans, he recently sat down with ESPN to reflect on the trials he has dealt with, including the 2022 suspension that threatened to obstruct a superstar career in the making prior to 2022.
The 2020 campaign (COVID season) is where Ridley had his breakout in Atlanta, catching 90 balls for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 15.3 yards per reception.
Despite playing on what would eventually be diagnosed as a fractured foot, Ridley had the best season of his career thus far and even made second-team All-Pro. Things hit the fan the next year with the foot injury, which the Falcons initially diagnosed as a "bone bruise," before the stabbing pain in Ridley's foot got worse during 2021 OTAs.
"My foot was messed up," Ridley said. "But, I've always been that guy — 'Nah, I'm all right, I'm going to play. I'm going to keep playing on it.'"
Dealing with injuries is something high-level athletes grow accustomed to. It's part of the gig. However, Ridley's foot injury wasn't the worst thing he'd go through within the next 12 months. He played in just five games during the 2021 season. The following offseason is when everything hit the fan, and the NFL suspended Ridley for the entire 2022 campaign.
"I downloaded the app sitting there not knowing that I was breaking a rule or anything," Ridley said. "Those were the only two NFL games I bet."
Betting on two games cost Ridley an entire season and over $11 million in salary. Needless to say, at that point, Ridley's mental health had taken a real hit. Dealing with the foot injury was bad, then the suspension made things worse, not to mention his home in Atlanta had been robbed in the midst of all this turmoil.
"If your mental ain't good, your confidence isn't there anymore," Ridley explained.
Ridley knows the power of good mental health. In the span of a couple of years, he continued to play despite an injury that was worse than diagnosed, dealt with personal issues at home, was then suspended for a year, and subsequently traded from Atlanta to Jacksonville to cap it all off.
Now, as a team captain in Tennessee, Ridley has a new opportunity and a new running mate in rookie quarterback Cam Ward. If all goes as planned, this could be the next great QB-WR tandem in the league. If that happens, it would be one of the best redemption stories the NFL has seen.
Source: "AOL Sports"
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