This certainly came as a surprise.
90 minutes before the Falcons were set to play the Panthers, Calvin Ridley was not on the active list, missing his second game this season because of a personal issue.
In a statement Ridley made on Twitter, he said:
These past few weeks have been very challenging and as much as I’d like to be on the field competing with my teammates, I need to step away from football at this time and focus on my mental wellbeing. This will help me be the best version of myself now and in the future.
I want to thank my teammates, the entire Atlanta Falcons organization, our great fans, my friends, and my family for all of their support during this time.
Ridley previously missed the Falcons’ Week 5 win over the Jets in London, also with a personal issue.
Falcons head coach Arthur Smith declined to go into the details about what Ridley is dealing with after the team’s 19-13 loss to the Panthers.
“Calvin’s dealing with something personal,” said Smith. “And it’s going to remain personal on my end. Calvin’s statement speaks for him, and so when we got here today, we talked and put him inactive.”
Ridley’s teammates expressed support for him as he deals with his mental health, as they did after he didn’t travel to London with the Falcons.
“Certainly wish Calvin all the best,” said Matt Ryan. “We love and support him and he’s a great friend and a great person, so we all support him as he’s going through this.”
“We are keeping him in our prayers and any time one of our brothers is hurting, we’re hurting as well,” said Tajae Sharpe. “So we feel for Calvin and are here for him whenever he needs us and whenever he’s ready to get back to playing football. But obviously his mental health is number one and the safety of his family and his health. So whatever he needs from us, we’re going to support no matter what and we’re just going to try to do our job while he’s away until we can get him back.”
The irony behind this is that Ridley announced that he would take a leave of absence from the team the same day Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson opened up about his fight with depression and anxiety on the FOX Sports pregame show. There is a parallel between both situations.
The Eagles made Johnson inactive ahead of their 42-30 loss to the Chiefs, where NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported he was inactive because of a personal matter.
The Falcons used that same “personal matter” designation with Ridley in two of his last three games. Like the Eagles before them, the Falcons did not know that Ridley would not play in their game against the Panthers.
Society has come a long way with mental illness. Ridley has received lots of support from his teammates and the organization.
But in the era of social media, you also expect to see the opposite side’s opinion. There were NFL fans criticizing Ridley for not being able to deal with his issues and keep playing. Others had the audacity to even say that he let down their fantasy teams.
For Ridley, you hope for the best in such a hard situation. But if you’re the Falcons, you now have questions on what the team will look like without Ridley on the field. If the 19-13 loss to the Panthers is part of some sort of answer, you and Arthur Smith have some things to figure out. And fast.
If you’re the Falcons, you didn’t know until Sunday morning that Ridley would not be with the team. Smith wouldn’t say how much not having Ridley changed the gameplan the team would have. He would figure the Panthers might have changed some man-to-man assignments with Ridley out, but didn’t indicate anything else changed.
Except in reality, it had to. Although Ridley is having a somewhat down year, he is still a difference-maker on the team. In the last four games he played, Ridley was targeted at least 10 times.
Through Week 7, he still led the Falcons in targets (52), was tied for the team lead in receptions (31), was second in touchdowns (two), and 3rd in yards (281). His presence on the fields shows that defenders should not turn away their attention on him, no matter if they’re double-teaming him or if it’s a top corner assigned to him.
With Ridley out, the Panthers seemed to have focused on Kyle Pitts, who had two catches for 13 yards on 6 targets. Pitts said that while his offensive role did not change, he saw more defenders on him, attention that may go to Ridley if he was out there.
And as long as Ridley is out, it is possible that Pitts will draw a lot of attention from defenders because he is the best remaining pass-catcher the Falcons have. Cordarrelle Patterson is still a strong option, but he will figure to have drawn more attention from defenses as well.
Russell Gage was not targeted during the loss to the Panthers. He is typically the team’s no. 1 option at receiver with Ridley out. While Matt Ryan said that it is “just how the game shakes out sometimes,” and has confidence in Gage moving forward, the fact that Gage was essentially taken out of the team’s gameplan is concerning.
If Gage is going to fill in the hole left behind by Ridley’s absence, the Falcons cannot take him out of the gameplan.
Tajae Sharpe was the beneficiary of Ridley’s absence in terms of targets (six), catches (five), and receiving yards (58), but on a long-term basis, he is not the answer.
Outside of all that, the offense did not have any form of consistency it had during the past month when they put up 25 or more points in four of five games. In this game, they looked like the offense that they were against the Eagles in Week 1, when they scored just 6 points and they took few offensive shots.
Those numbers backed it up this game. Ryan had his lowest yards per attempt (5.41) and yards per dropback (4.32) since the season opener. He threw for the fewest first downs (11) since that loss, too. The 7.3 yards per completion in the game were his lowest of the season. In his defense, however, he did say that the Panthers took away the Falcons’ deep route options.
It’s possible that it looks better in future games. In Week 5, when the Falcons, without Ridley, defeated the Jets, they had 27 points and Ryan had 342 passing yards. There could be a plan that can work; it just has to look different than anyone will envision.
Stepping away from the game means that you’re taking time to yourself. It is easy to forget that the pressure that professional athletes face is enormous, and there are healthy ways on dealing with that, such as self-care treatment, cognitive therapy, or finding their inner peace.
For all the talk about how much they get paid, the physical and mental demands don’t get the same amount of attention. Combine that with the stresses with how players have to deal with how toxic social media is, and they need to put the effort that they are mentally in a good position.
There is no telling what exactly one is truly suffering from. Athletes, like everyone else, can be in a start place where they struggle to be openly candid about the core of their issues.
People are quick to judge and criticize rather than ask questions and listen to them openly. They can put pressure on someone to reveal information in which the person struggling mentally might not be comfortable sharing. Phrases like “Be a man” or “Just be happy” are demeaning and don’t do anything to better the situation.
What we can do for athletes and others is to be respectful, understanding, open-minded, and supportive when they are at a low. Being considerate with those dealing with anxiety, depression, or other mental illnesses can go a long way. It helps when comforting a person that is struggling to find comfort in their life.
Regaining a sense of comfort is a huge step towards someone’s recovery. They can find true self-belief, knowing in a way they did not before that they will be back stronger.
Many athletes spoke out on their mental health issues, such as Tyson Fury and Simone Biles. By being vulnerable and showing that athletes are not invincible, it raised awareness about how world champions and gold medalists can still be mentally struggling even when they are at their highs.
It’s not new, but what is new is that teams and sports leagues are learning what it means to support these athletes, and athletes are learning that they do not have to be silent on this matter. Sha’Carri Richardson used marijuana to cope with the loss of her mother, and Yankees legend Mickey Mantle admitted he used alcohol to cope with the loss of his father.
What Ridley did was courageous in taking the initiative himself on saying he needs to step away from football, but it’s not a given on how well teams will handle it.
How the Falcons have responded is respectable.
Arthur Smith and Matt Ryan publicly supported him during his challenging time. Ex-Falcons head coach and current Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn took time away from his duties to reach out to Ridley. Give them praise for their efforts to reach out to him, along with maintaining his privacy when asked about the situation.
A person is not obligated to publicly reveal what they are dealing with. If they want to keep things private, they should be respected for their decision.
The public should not decide on how an athlete should approach their mental health issues. As long as they are honest with those most important to them, they are taking the right steps on the road to recovery. It’s on them to find the healthiest route possible, and teams should support those athletes.
The conversation about mental health continues to expand in sports. Athletes are expressing their thoughts and creating a safe haven for players to be publicly vulnerable. Lane Johnson, Dak Prescott, and Hayden Hurst have done exceptional in raising awareness and debunking any misconceptions about athletes and mental health.
Football is a grueling sport where players must be focused on performing at the highest level. Anything less will lead to them enduring severe mental and physical consequences.
If one is not fully focused and is not at their best mentally, don’t expect them to perform at the highest level. No matter how healthy they are physically, the mental side of the game has to be brought into question too.
To expect a player to just “tough it out” is nonsensical if the player is struggling deeply. They could suffer a severe injury or struggle to perform to standards, leading to hateful remarks that bring them into a further depressive state.
Protecting and supporting the player should always be the focus for fans, organizations, and teammates alike. They don’t need to further pressure the athlete; they need to believe in their commitment to growth and the mental perception that they need to take on the challenges of a high-level professional athlete.
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