Calvin Ridley was expected to be a hot commodity on the trade market this offseason. Any potential move now will have to wait until, at the earliest, next offseason.
Ridley was suspended indefinitely, but at least for the 2022 season, by the NFL this week after it was revealed he had gambled on games while away from the Atlanta Falcons.
The 27-year-old had emerged as one of the league’s more productive wide receivers, and with the Falcons in a bit of a rebuild, it was looking like they’d entertain trading him for the right price. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter indicated on 92.9 The Game that he heard the right price included a first-round pick.
“I know that they were, at least I had heard up at the combine, that they were hoping to get a first-round pick in a trade for him. So that’s out now,” Ledbetter told “Dukes and Bell" on Tuesday.
Trading first-round picks is not all that common, but if there was enough of a bidding war, the Falcons might’ve been able to fetch a first-rounder for Ridley this offseason.
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Now, he’s basically a depressed asset. Assuming he is reinstated for the 2023 season, Ridley will have last played a game on Oct. 24, 2021 and will become an unrestricted free agent in March 2024. There is basically no chance of them being able to get a high pick, let alone a first-rounder, for a player under those circumstances.
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