Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Falcons WR Calvin Ridley to remain out through Jaguars game?

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 11/22/21

Atlanta Falcons star wide receiver Calvin Ridley missed the 19-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers on October 31 and later took to Twitter to announce he was indefinitely stepping away from the team to address his mental health:

pic.twitter.com/q7OOoAKkdV
— CALVIN RIDLEY (@CalvinRidley1) October 31, 2021

Atlanta subsequently placed Ridley on the reserve-NFI list (non-football injury) ahead of Week 9, a move that made the 26-year-old ineligible for the next three games. Those three contests have come and gone, meaning Ridley is able to practice ahead of this coming Sunday's matchup at the Jacksonville Jaguars.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, though, Atlanta head coach Arthur Smith told reporters Monday he has no update on Ridley's status, which suggests the receiver isn't all that close to returning to action:

Atlanta’s Calvin Ridley is eligible to be activated off the non-football injury list this week, but Falcons’ HC Arthur Smith said today that he had no update on his standout wide receiver, who stepped away from the game to tend to his mental health.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 22, 2021

The Falcons have dropped two straight to fall to 4-6 overall and certainly missed Ridley's on-the-field contributions during last Thursday's woeful 25-0 home loss to the New England Patriots. Per ESPN's Michael Rothstein, Smith said on Oct. 31 Ridley was dealing with "something personal" amid his absence, and one wonders if the Falcons will shut the 2020 Second-Team All-Pro down if they suffer a few more losses that, theoretically, would knock them out of playoff contention.

Thus far this season, Ridley has tallied 31 catches for 281 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

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