NFL suspends Calvin Ridley for betting on NFL games

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Packers QB Rodgers soon to decide whether to stay, go or retire

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In this day and age of widespread pro-sports gambling, does the NFL still have a zero-tolerance policy forbidding players from betting on league games?

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You bet.

The league on Monday announced it has suspended Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley indefinitely — through at least the end of the coming 2022 season — for being caught having placed bets on NFL games over a five-day period in late November.

That’s when Ridley was away from the Falcons, his season over, on the non-football illness list — after he said he needed time away from the game to focus on his “mental well-being.”

A league investigation found that Ridley used no insider information for his bets, nor that the integrity of any game was compromised, NFL.com reported.

“There is nothing more fundamental to the NFL’s success — and to the reputation of everyone associated with our league — than upholding the integrity of the game,” commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter informing Ridley of his punishment. “This is the responsibility of every player, coach, owner, game official and anyone else employed in the league. Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL.

“For decades, gambling on NFL games has been considered among the most significant violations of league policy, warranting the most substantial sanction. In your case, I acknowledge and commend you for your promptly reporting for an interview, and for admitting your actions.”

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that Ridley placed parlay bets on his phone, and that his bets actually did involve his own team, the Falcons.

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Ridley, 27, would have entered his fifth season in the NFL this year. He caught 217 passes for 26 touchdowns over his first three seasons, but in only five games last fall he caught just 31 balls for two scores before walking away.

On Monday, following the league’s bombshell announcement, Ridley took to Twitter to say he does not have “a gambling problem,” that he bet $1,500 “total,” that he “couldn’t even watch football at that point,” and that he’s just going to “be more healthy when I come back.”

Reports said he is not eligible for reinstatement until next Feb. 15.

Ridley is the first player suspended by the league for betting on NFL games since Arizona Cardinals defensive back Josh Shaw in 2019.

The most infamous incident occurred nearly 60 years ago, when two star players were suspended for the 1963 season: Green Bay Packers halfback Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras.

RODGERS DECIDING SOON

Some years, the biggest news to blow out of the NFL Scouting Combine has nothing to do with the actual scouting combine.

As with this year.

All league eyes were, and remain, on quarterback Aaron Rodgers — who is expected to inform the Green Bay Packers in the coming days, even hours, whether he (a) wants to return to the club for the 2022 season, (b) wants to be traded, and where, or (c) will retire from pro football.

The combine concluded Sunday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with on-field testing of defensive backs. More on the top takeaways from that week-long event, below.

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But the most pressing NFL matter, for now, is what Rodgers wants to do in ’22.

Last Friday, NFL Network reported that the 38-year-old quarterback is “truly torn” about his decision. On the weekend ProFootballTalk.com cited “someone with actual, specific information” as saying “the decision isn’t Green Bay vs. Not Green Bay. That potential destinations have been identified and tentative trade terms have been arranged.”

That came as news to the Packers, at least according to the Packers, who blew back by insisting the club has not held any trade talks with any teams.

Tuesday is the NFL’s franchise-tag deadline. That is, for a team to retain — for one more season — one of its free-agents-to-be by slapping a franchise tag on him.

It’s possible that Tuesday’s deadline might affect Rodgers’ decision, but likely only insofar as what becomes of his close friend and ace wide receiver on the Packers, Davante Adams, an all-pro the past two seasons and a big reason Rodgers is the two-time defending league MVP. Adams’ second contract in Green Bay — $58 million over four years — expires a week from Wednesday, when free agency kicks off.

If by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. EST deadline the Packers should slap a tag on Adams, reports say the 2022 non-exclusive franchise-tag salary (the type almost always used) for wide receivers will be $18.5 million. That’s good money for a wideout, fully guaranteed too, but by franchise-tagging rules 100% of it would count toward the cap-strapped Packers’ 2022 team salary cap.

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Seeing that Rodgers — should he decide to return — is set to earn more than $27 million himself in 2022, with a monstrous cap hit of $46.7 million, the Packers would be devoting some $65 million of its $208-million 2022 cap to only Rodgers and Adams. Or 31% of it. To two players. Ouch.

While the Packers could, and in those events surely would, try to sign Adams to a long-term deal by the mid-July deadline for tagged players, so as to punt to future years as much of his cap allocation as possible, there’s no guarantee the two sides could agree on a new contract within the next four years to substantially lower Adams’ ’22 cap hit.

Bottom line, with Rodgers and Adams back in the fold the Packers likely would be less able to field a team in 2022 as good and as talented at positions beyond QB and WR as those of the past three seasons, when Green Bay won the NFC North and finished the regular season as a top, or the top, NFC playoff seed.

All these factors, and plenty more, are what Rodgers and his advisers have been mulling for weeks. How important is it to him to remain a Packer? Or to keep playing with Adams, and in the familiar and successful attack schemed by head coach Matt LaFleur?

Appears we won’t have to hold our breaths much longer to get his answer.

COMBINE TAKEAWAYS

Veteran quarterback destinations aside, the news on the combine, at the combine, as always centred on the quarterbacks.

And more and more it’s looking as though this will be one of those years — once or twice a decade — when there just isn’t a draft QB seen to be worthy of a Top 10 pick, or even in the top half of the first round.

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The last time came in 2013, when the Buffalo Bills took a flyer on EJ Manuel at No. 16 overall, and almost instantly regretted it. Or at least head coach Doug Marrone did, beating everyone to the punch. Long story.

This year, most draft experts are pegging University of Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett as the surest prospect, if not the one with the highest upside.

“Ready to play right now, I would say Pickett,” NFL Network’s top draft analyst, Daniel Jeremiah, said before the combine, and reiterated Sunday. “Pickett has got a lot of experience. He, to me, is somebody when you watch all these guys (is) just different with how quickly he operates, just getting through progressions, getting the ball where it needs to be.

“He doesn’t have wow arm strength. He doesn’t blow you away with that, but he’s got really good vision. He throws with anticipation and timing. I think he’d be ready to come in and play right away.”

After Pickett and the quarterbacks partook in throwing drills in front of talent evaluators of all 32 clubs on Thursday night, Jeremiah seemed to double-down, saying Pickett did everything he needed to, and did nothing to undermine, previous projections.

The biggest knock on Pickett is hand size, which measured just 8½ inches last week — the third smallest hand measurement of any combine QB since 2003 and smaller than any current NFL starter. How might that impact his draft stock?

“It’s a discussion that’s taking place … I didn’t see any issues with him throwing the football, with his hand size,” Jeremiah said on air on Thursday night. “The NFL ball is a little bit bigger, so you start there … Nine (inches) has been kind of the cutoff.”

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Jeremiah ranks Pickett as the No. 28 overall prospect.

Elsewhere at the combine, University of Michigan pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson, with outstanding skill-drill times and on-field workouts, might have cemented projections that see him going as the No. 1 overall draft pick on April 28, to the Jacksonville Jaguars. And one of two Canadians at the combine, and the only one healthy enough to work out — Ottawa defensive lineman Jesse Luketa — pulled up injured during the 40-yard dash timings, and had to miss the on-field positional workouts.

EXTRA POINTSThe first two franchise tags were applied on Monday, to Cleveland tight end David Njoku and Cincinnati safety Jessie Bates … Carolina has been fielding trade inquiries for RB Christian McCaffrey, CBS reported … Reports said New England is releasing linebacker Kyle Van Noy … Indianapolis tight end Jack Doyle retired.

John Kryk now writes a weekly newsletter on NFL matters. Content is exclusive to that platform. You can have it automatically dropped into your email inbox on Wednesdays simply by signing up — for free — at https://torontosun.com/newsletters/

JoKryk@postmedia.com

@JohnKryk

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