The Atlanta Falcons have made a move on NFL Trade Deadline day to officially move on from former first-round pick Calvin Ridley.
The Falcons are sending Ridley to the Jacksonville Jaguars for conditional draft picks… conditional considering Ridley will enter the 2023 season without having played in the NFL for nearly two years.
According the Schefter the Falcons get at least a 2024 fifth-round pick, and a 2024 fourth-round pick. The fourth-round pick can rise as high as a second if the Jaguars elect to re-sign Ridley.
Ridley was set to play on his $11.1 million fifth-year contract option in 2022 before he was suspended by the NFL for the entire season for gambling on games.
Terms of the deal aren’t official, but the Falcons should get all of that money back as 2023 salary-cap relief as the Jaguars are on the hook for his 2023 option.
It was clear last season while Ridley was away from the team that he would never play for the Falcons again. Atlanta had reportedly worked out a deal to trade him in the offseason before they were alerted by the NFL he was going to be suspended.
Getting as much as a second and a fifth while getting $11 million in cap relief is a good deal for the Falcons, and potentially a good deal for the Jaguars if Ridley can come close to his 2020 form.
Ridley turns 28 next month and a fresh start will be good for everyone involved.
