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Calvin Orin Ridley (born December 20, 1994) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he was a part of the national championship-winning teams in 2015 and 2017. Drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft, he was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team and earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2020.
After announcing midway through the 2021 season that he would be stepping away from football due to mental health reasons, it was later revealed that Ridley would be suspended indefinitely through at least the conclusion of the 2022 season for violating the league's gambling policy. While suspended, he was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars and was reinstated the following year.
When he was younger, Ridley played Pop Warner football in the same league as Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise Brown and Ravens cornerback Trayvon Mullen, in the Pompano Beach area of Florida just four miles from the high school he would attend. Ridley attended Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Florida, where he played high school football for the Knights. He played only three games in his senior year due to Florida age restriction rules, which doesn't allow anyone over the age of 19 and nine months to be eligible.
Ridley was rated as a five-star recruit and was considered the best receiver in the class of 2015 according to 247Sports, Rivals, and ESPN. He committed to the University of Alabama to play college football on April 19, 2014. He began enrollment at Alabama on June 19, 2015.
Ridley earned immediate playing time as a true freshman in 2015. In his first career game on September 5, 2015, he had three receptions for 22 yards against the University of Wisconsin. He scored his first collegiate touchdown in a victory over Louisiana-Monroe on September 26. In the following game, against Georgia, he had five receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown in the victory. He followed that up with 140 receiving yards and a touchdown in a victory over Arkansas. In the SEC Championship against Florida, he had eight receptions for 102 yards in the victory. The Alabama Crimson Tide made the College Football Playoff. In the 38–0 victory over Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl, he had 138 receiving yards and two touchdowns. In the National Championship against Clemson, he was held to six receptions for 14 yards but the Crimson Tide won the National Championship by a score of 45–40. Ridley led the SEC in receptions with 89 in 2015.
In the 2016 season, Ridley remained a strong threat for the Crimson Tide. In the second game of the season, he had nine receptions for 129 receiving yards and a touchdown against Western Kentucky. On October 1, Ridley hauled in 11 receptions for 174 yards and two touchdowns against the University of Kentucky. His 11 receptions, 174 yards, and two touchdowns were career highs. Over the remainder of the 2016 season, he had 41 receptions for 371 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Alabama once again won the SEC Championship and made the College Football Playoff. However, they fell to Clemson in a rematch in the National Championship.
In the 2017 season, Ridley started off strong with seven receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown in the 24–7 victory over Florida State. On November 11, against Mississippi State, he had five receptions for 171 receiving yards in the victory. Alabama made the College Football Playoff once again in the 2017 season. In the National Semifinal, Ridley had four receptions for 39 yards in the Sugar Bowl. In the National Championship against Georgia, he had four receptions for 32 yards and the late game-tying touchdown to help force overtime in the 26–23 victory.
On January 10, 2018, it was announced that Ridley would forgo his senior year at Alabama in favor of the 2018 NFL draft.
Ridley was named the Offensive Rookie of the Month for September after collecting six touchdown receptions, which was the most in the league and tied an NFL record for a rookie in his first four games. In Week 17 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ridley broke the Falcons single-season receiving touchdowns by a rookie record after scoring 10 touchdowns. The record was previously set by Junior Miller in 1980. Ridley finished the 2018 season leading all rookies in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, as well as leading all rookie wide receivers in receptions. He was named to PFWA All-Rookie Team, becoming the fourth Atlanta Falcons receiver to get this award, joining Shawn Collins (1989), Mike Pritchard (1991), and Julio Jones (2011).
In Week 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Ridley recorded eight catches for 124 yards and a touchdown during the 20–17 loss. In Week 15 against the Buccaneers, Ridley recorded ten catches for 163 yards and a touchdown during the 31–27 loss. In Week 16 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Ridley recorded five catches for 130 yards during the 17–14 loss. Ridley was named to the Associated Press' All-Pro 2nd Team for his performance during the 2020 season. He finished the 2020 season with 90 receptions for 1,374 yards and nine receiving touchdowns. He was ranked 65th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.
In March 2023, Ridley revealed that he had played the majority of the 2020 season with a broken foot.
In Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Ridley caught 5 passes for 51 yards in the 32–6 loss. Against the Buccaneers in Week 2, Ridley caught his first receiving touchdown of the season to go along with 7 receptions for 63 yards. The next week against the New York Giants, Ridley had eight receptions for 61 yards as the Falcons picked up their first win of the season, winning 17–14. After not traveling with the Falcons for their London game against the New York Jets the previous week due to an undisclosed personal matter, Ridley returned on October 24 against the Miami Dolphins, catching four passes for 26 yards and a touchdown, helping the Falcons win 30–28.
On October 31, Ridley announced on Twitter that he was stepping away from football due to mental-health reasons. Ridley finished the season with 31 receptions for 281 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in five games played.
On February 15, 2023, Ridley applied for reinstatement, his first day eligible to do so. He was officially reinstated on March 6, just a day before the first anniversary of his initial suspension. Shortly after, Ridley announced he would be changing his jersey number to 0 after the NFL's jersey numbering system was modified to allow the number 0 to be worn, becoming the first player in franchise history to have the number.
On September 10, 2023, Ridley made his Jaguars debut in Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts. In his first game in 686 days, Ridley caught eight passes for 101 yards and a receiving touchdown as the Jaguars won 31–21. In Week 11 against the Titans, he had seven receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He had two receiving touchdowns in a Week 16 loss to the Buccaneers. He finished the 2023 season with 76 receptions for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns.
On September 12, 2021, the Ridley's home was robbed while he was playing against the Philadelphia Eagles. Ridley developed anxiety following the robbery.
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