“My plan was to get through another season with pills and shots. Do my job. Grit it out. I suited up Week 1 a shell of myself, but I played.”
These words were spoken by All-Pro wide receiver, Calvin Ridley, who focused on pushing through pain – both physically and mentally. The Tennessee Titan got caught up in one major mistake that soon proved to be a blessing in disguise.
The 2018 first round pick amassed incredible highlights in his three teams, but his impact on the league was felt just as hard off the field.
So far in his career, Ridley is a 2020 Second-team All-Pro, 2018 PFWA All-Rookie Team, 2x CFP National Champion, made the freshman All-American in 2015, First-team All-SEC in 2017 and 2x Second-team All-SEC in 2015 and 2016.
Fast forward two years into his NFL career, Ridley started facing issues. In 2021 while on the Atlanta Falcons, Ridley was diagnosed with a broken bone two months before Week 1. He wanted to mend it as best as he could each game day to not miss a game, so he took Toradol, a fast-acting pain reliever, every Sunday. This should have raised concern in the NFL as the drug is not meant to be used repetitively like that.
Following the Week 1 game, Ridley and his family were coming home from a game when the family found they were robbed. This triggered PTSD for Ridley seeing the video footage of the robbers breaking into his home. In an interview with The Falcon Report, he reflected on how this related to him and his brother being taken from their parents’ home.
“I can still remember when we first got put in foster care, just lying in bed at night, scared as hell, not knowing what the future was going to bring. All I knew was that tomorrow … rain or shine … I could play some football,” Ridley said.
Throwing the broken bone, drug use, mental health condition and post-pandemic world into the mix, Ridley stepped away from football in October 2021, posting a statement to X (formerly Twitter).
Ridley spent time away from football to try to heal before setting foot on the field again. However, in doing so, he wanted to simultaneously root for his team. Ridley placed a few bets, including on the Falcons, to support the team even though he was away from them. Ridley was suspended March 7, 2022 for violating NFL rules on gambling.
What might seem like a nightmare for Ridley, ended up being a blessing in disguise. This inspired Ridley to get help, see a therapist and begin getting his mental right. In this process, Ridley was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in November 2022. By March 2023, Ridley was reinstated in the NFL and was back to the game like he never missed in the next season.
Ridley signed to the Tennessee Titans in March 2024, three years after his suspension, on a four-year deal.
“I had to hit rock bottom so I could get healthy. Thank God, with the help of my therapist, I was able to understand what was happening to me. I learned the names for the things that I was feeling — stress, depression, anxiety — and how to cope with those emotions,” Ridley wrote in The Players’ Tribune.
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