North Gwinnett News

Falcons team owner Arthur Blank recently said that the team is looking to bring receiver Calvin Ridley back for the 2022-23 season. 

According to ESPN, Ridley missed 12 games for Falcons last season dealing with mental health issues before announcing that he was taking time away from football to focus on himself.

"There's a lot of trauma today," Blank told ESPN. "And so I think he's committed to resolving his issues and getting them behind him. Doesn't mean they're necessarily out of his head but they are behind him and he'll be able to function fully, not only on the field but off the field as well. So where that'll take him, I don't know."

Before going out, Ridley had 31 catches for 281 yards last season. Blank said that he and the Falcons support Ridley's decision.

"I will tell you what I know. What I know is that we'd love to have the young man back to play for us," Blank told ESPN. "But, you know, where that sits with him, I don't know. We haven't talked to him directly, and at some point, with free agency coming up upon us and draft after that, we have to have a clearer understanding about that and I think he and his agents certainly understand that as well."

Since leaving the team, Ridley has not spoken publicly about his condition. 

"I know we've done everything we possibly could do to be there for him and we'll see how that unfolds in terms of him with our team or the future with us or somebody else in the NFL," Blank told ESPN.

During the recent Senior Bowl, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said that there was no update on Ridley yet.

Last May, Ridley had his fifth-year option picked up by the club.