FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons had been looking to trade wide receiver Calvin Ridley for a long time.
The team had to pull out of a deal with the Eagles after Ridley’s gambling issues surfaced in February. The Falcons traded him to the Jaguars on Tuesday at the NFL’s trade deadline.
The Falcons picked up a fifth-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick that could become a second-round pick from the Jaguars. The Falcons received a seventh-round pick from the Bills for safety Dean Marlowe and sent the Chiefs a conditional seventh-round pick for cornerback Rashad Fenton.
Falcons coach Arthur Smith intimated that he talked with Ridley but didn’t want to share their conversation publicly.
“Any trade we make, there is always a human element in what is a tough business,” Smith said. “We understand how it affects every party involved. We always try to do the right thing by the team and by the players.”
Ridley, who left the Falcons at midseason in 2021 to tend to his mental well-being, was suspended indefinitely, at least through the 2022 season, for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.
According to the NFL, Ridley bet on NFL games last season during a five-day stretch in late November, when he was away from the team on the reserve/non-football illness list.
Ridley, who was set to enter the fifth year of a contract that was to pay him $11.1 million, can apply for reinstatement Feb. 15.
“These discussions have been ongoing for a long time,” Smith said.
The Falcons will see if Fenton can help in the secondary. The team is giving up 306.9 yards passing per game, which ranks last (32nd) in the league.
Fenton, who is wearing No. 21, was set to practice with the team Wednesday.
“We just have to assess when we see him,” Smith said. “We have some depth at corner, and obviously (Fenton is) a player that we like. (Secondary coach) Jon Hoke has some history with him at South Carolina. That was just an opportunity to add some depth. We’ll see how it looks this week and go from there.”
Hoke was South Carolina’s co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach in 2015. Fenton played at South Carolina and was drafted by the Chiefs in the sixth round (201st overall) of the 2019 draft.
“It does help when you have some familiarity with (the player),” Smith said. “You can go back to the college evals, the pro evals. (If) somebody has a history with him, it helps when you make a deal like that for a player that can provide depth. We’ll see how it goes, see what it looks like to see if he gets active or not.”
Marlowe played for the Bills from 2017-20. He broke into the league with the Panthers when Bills coach Sean McDermott was with the Panthers.
“We love Dean Marlowe; there’s an opportunity there for him in Buffalo,” Smith said. “We have guys that we feel in-house that have cross-trained and Jovante (Moffatt, who’s on the practice squad).”
For more content about the Atlanta Falcons
On Facebook at Atlanta Falcons News Now
On Instagram at DorlandoLed
Atlanta Falcons coverage on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Bow Tie Chronicles
Atlanta Falcons 2022 schedule
Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27
Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23
Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20
Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14
Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT
Nov. 6 vs. Los Angeles Chargers, 1 p.m.
Nov. 10 at Carolina, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 20 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m.
Nov. 27 at Washington, 1 p.m.
Dec. 4 vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 at New Orleans, TBD
Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
