Calvin Ridley hasn't been practicing for Atlanta, and yesterday we found out why. He recently underwent foot surgery, and is recovering from it. The Falcons maintain the procedure was minor (of course they do). I'm not going to be alarmist, but I think virtually any foot surgery needs to be taken seriously. He's expected to be fine for training camp, but it's definitely something to monitor.
Ridley is the clear No. 1 wide receiver in Atlanta following the Julio Jones trade, so his health is not only critical to the Falcons, but it's a situation affecting the player that should be one of the league's most targeted wide receivers this year. He's already been pretty good his first three seasons, especially in terms of scoring.
Ridley has caught 10, 7 and 9 touchdowns his first three seasons. That's while even while missing 4 games the last two years, and not opening as a starter his rookie season. His 26 touchdowns over that time span trail only five other wideouts, most of whom can be immediately guessed.
WIDE RECEIVER STATS, 2018-2020 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
Davante Adams | 309 | 3,757 | 12.2 | 36 |
Tyreek Hill | 232 | 3,615 | 15.6 | 34 |
Mike Evans | 223 | 3,687 | 16.5 | 29 |
Adam Thielen | 217 | 2,716 | 12.5 | 29 |
Tyler Lockett | 239 | 3,076 | 12.9 | 28 |
Calvin Ridley | 217 | 3,061 | 14.1 | 26 |
DeAndre Hopkins | 334 | 4,144 | 12.4 | 24 |
Stefon Diggs | 292 | 3,686 | 12.6 | 23 |
Chris Godwin | 210 | 3,015 | 14.4 | 23 |
Marvin Jones | 173 | 2,265 | 13.1 | 23 |
Keenan Allen | 301 | 3,387 | 11.3 | 20 |
Amari Cooper | 246 | 3,308 | 13.4 | 20 |
Antonio Brown | 153 | 1,836 | 12.0 | 20 |
JuJu Smith-Schuster | 250 | 2,809 | 11.2 | 19 |
Cooper Kupp | 226 | 2,701 | 12.0 | 19 |
A.J. Brown | 122 | 2,126 | 17.4 | 19 |
Michael Thomas | 314 | 3,568 | 11.4 | 18 |
Kenny Golladay | 155 | 2,591 | 16.7 | 18 |
Allen Robinson | 255 | 3,151 | 12.4 | 17 |
Julio Jones | 263 | 3,842 | 14.6 | 17 |
Mike Williams | 140 | 2,421 | 17.3 | 17 |
DK Metcalf | 141 | 2,203 | 15.6 | 17 |
Tyler Boyd | 245 | 2,915 | 11.9 | 16 |
T.Y. Hilton | 177 | 2,533 | 14.3 | 16 |
Nelson Agholor | 151 | 1,995 | 13.2 | 15 |
Will Fuller | 134 | 2,052 | 15.3 | 15 |
Marquise Brown | 104 | 1,353 | 13.0 | 15 |
Robert Woods | 266 | 3,289 | 12.4 | 14 |
Robby Anderson | 197 | 2,627 | 13.3 | 14 |
DeVante Parker | 159 | 2,304 | 14.5 | 14 |
Emmanuel Sanders | 198 | 2,463 | 12.4 | 14 |
Curtis Samuel | 170 | 1,972 | 11.6 | 14 |
John Brown | 147 | 2,233 | 15.2 | 14 |
Jamison Crowder | 166 | 1,920 | 11.6 | 14 |
Jarvis Landry | 236 | 2,990 | 12.7 | 13 |
Brandin Cooks | 203 | 2,937 | 14.5 | 13 |
Cole Beasley | 214 | 2,417 | 11.3 | 13 |
Odell Beckham | 174 | 2,406 | 13.8 | 13 |
Michael Gallup | 158 | 2,457 | 15.6 | 13 |
DJ Chark | 140 | 1,888 | 13.5 | 13 |
David Moore | 78 | 1,163 | 14.9 | 13 |
Julian Edelman | 195 | 2,282 | 11.7 | 12 |
Christian Kirk | 159 | 1,920 | 12.1 | 12 |
Golden Tate | 158 | 1,859 | 11.8 | 12 |
Diontae Johnson | 147 | 1,603 | 10.9 | 12 |
Chris Conley | 119 | 1,580 | 13.3 | 12 |
Zach Pascal | 112 | 1,504 | 13.4 | 12 |
Larry Fitzgerald | 198 | 1,947 | 9.8 | 11 |
Corey Davis | 173 | 2,476 | 14.3 | 11 |
Terry McLaurin | 145 | 2,037 | 14.0 | 11 |
Anthony Miller | 134 | 1,564 | 11.7 | 11 |
Kendrick Bourne | 121 | 1,512 | 12.5 | 11 |
Darius Slayton | 98 | 1,491 | 15.2 | 11 |
Alshon Jeffery | 114 | 1,448 | 12.7 | 11 |
Breshad Perriman | 82 | 1,490 | 18.2 | 11 |
Demarcus Robinson | 99 | 1,203 | 12.2 | 11 |
Kenny Stills | 88 | 1,258 | 14.3 | 11 |
Tyrell Williams | 83 | 1,304 | 15.7 | 11 |
DJ Moore | 208 | 3,156 | 15.2 | 10 |
Sterling Shepard | 189 | 2,104 | 11.1 | 10 |
Courtland Sutton | 117 | 1,882 | 16.1 | 10 |
Marquez Valdes-Scantling | 97 | 1,723 | 17.8 | 10 |
John Ross | 51 | 733 | 14.4 | 10 |
Mecole Hardman | 67 | 1,098 | 16.4 | 10 |
So Ridley's been great, and the team should lean on him even more this year (although it's a new offense under Arthur Smith). They're saying he'll be ready for training camp, though seems likely he'll be limited early on -- too important to risk rushing him back.
Personally, I don't think this news should alter Ridley's spot in the rankings, unless we get into August and he's still not back on the field. Just one of many things to watch this summer.
--Andy Richardson