Calvin Ridley scores first touchdown since NFL suspension with 9-yard strike from Trevor Lawrence
Calvin Ridley showed NFL nation that he is definitely back, quickly scoring his first touchdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars on the team’s second drive against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
He scored his first touchdown, a nine-yard pass to the back of the endzone from Trevor Lawrence, since returning from his suspension that kept him out of the 2022 season.
The Jaguars went up 7-0 on a nine-play drive led by Lawrence. The former first-round draft pick threw four passes to Ridley on the drive, including a 24-yard reception.
Not all NFL fans will remember how dominant Ridley was prior to his injury and suspension. He plans to remind them.
“I am a 1,400-yard type of player, God is going to determine what type of stats I am going to have,” Ridley said this summer. “Football is serious. I mean, you don’t just play 17 games straight and think you’re going to be in every one of them and playing healthy in all of them. So what I’m saying is I am a 1,400 yard receiver with a broken foot.”
Through 49 games played, Ridley has 248 receptions for just over 3,300 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns. In 2020, his targets shot up with the Falcons. He caught 90 passes for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns. That earned him a spot on the AP’s All-Pro second team that year.
Ridley was traded to the Jaguars from the Atlanta Falcons in November. He has not played in an NFL game since October of 2021 after announcing he was stepping away from football due to mental health reasons. He then served a suspension for the entirety of the 2022 season after it was revealed he placed bets on games, including some involving the Falcons.
Ridley rocking No. 0 after rule change
Ridley is the first player to take advantage of a recent rule change. The league revealed following the NFL Annual Meeting that players will be allowed to wear No. 0 on their jerseys in 2023, and the receiver announced shortly after he will don the number for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Excited to be the first Jaguars player to wear zero,” Ridley tweeted. “Shout out to (Jaguars Equipment)!”
This season will mark the first since 1973 that players are permitted to wear No. 0. Former Raiders center Jim Otto is one notable player who wore the number in the past. Otto played 15 years in the NFL from 1960-74 and later entered into the Hall of Fame.