Calvin Ridley's time away from the Atlanta Falcons is going to last at least one more season. The NFL announced on Monday that the star receiver has been suspended indefinitely -- at least through the 2022 campaign -- for betting on league games in 2021. An NFL statement said that Ridley placed bets across a five-day period in November, and his parlays included his own team.
Ridley, who played only five games last season due to mental health reasons, admitted to gambling in a series of tweets on Monday. The league statement said that its investigation showed no evidence that inside information or "any game was compromised in any way." The NFL also said that Atlanta's coaches, staff, and players weren't involved in Ridley's activity.
"I don't think it's realistic for us to think everyone's going to walk the right line. And the league's going to be very circumspect on how they're going to define its line," NFL on CBS analyst Charles Davis told After Hours with Amy Lawrence on Tuesday. "They spell it out. Will we all read the fine print, all understand the rules of the road? I think Pete Rose is sitting up, 'Woah, woah, one year?'
"If you're betting on your team, betting on yourself as true insider information, I think you'll be dealt with a lot harsher. And the penalties will be bigger and stricter, because that's where it really starts to kick into play... This is a whole different ballgame, and the league's got to be very, very careful with it... Let's just be honest: do we really think that Ridley will be the end of it? I don't think so, and I don't mean that in a bad way..."
The Falcons released their own statement on Ridley's suspension, saying that they were made aware of the NFL's investigation in early February and they're "moving forward in the 2022 season with the decision that was made." Ridley has become the fifth player punished for gambling in NFL history and the first since 2019. Atlanta exercised its fifth-year, $11.1 million option with Ridley prior to last season, but that money is now picked up in cap space for 2022, and it carries over to 2023. Ridley can't apply for reinstatement until Feb. 15, 2023.
The entire NFL conversation between Davis and Lawrence can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow After Hours With Amy Lawrence on Twitter @ALawRadio and @AfterHoursCBS, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.