Ridley’s TD catch in return to Atlanta is rare highlight for Titans in joint practice with Falcons

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — It didn’t take former Atlanta receiver Calvin Ridley very long to make a big play in his return to his former home.

It didn’t take Falcons fans long to show they remember Ridley.

Ridley opened Tuesday’s joint practice between Tennessee and Atlanta by catching a long pass from Titans rookie Cam Ward for a touchdown, bringing instant cheers from fans who usually saved those responses for the home team.

Ridley raised the ball in an apparent recognition of the fans’ response.

“It was all right,” Ridley said of his return to the Falcons’ practice facility near Atlanta. “Old memories. Old faces.”

Ridley was a first-round draft pick by Atlanta from Alabama in 2018 and teamed with Julio Jones to give the Falcons one of their most productive tandems at wide receiver in team history. He had 10 touchdown catches in his 2018 rookie season and set career highs with 90 catches for 1,374 yards in 2020.

Ridley played in only five games in 2021, when he posted on social media he needed “to step away from football at this time and focus on my mental well being.” He was suspended for the 2022 season for placing bets on games in 2021.

He was traded to Jacksonville late in 2022 before finding a new home with Tennessee, where he agreed to a four-year, $92 million deal before the 2024 season.

When asked Tuesday about his decision to “step away” from football at the end of his time in Atlanta, Ridley said “I was injured.”

“That’s why I was going through what I was going through, OK,” Ridley said. “When you’re injured and they want you to be really good, it’s not easy. So that was what I was going through.”

Ridley has had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with the Jaguars and Titans and, at 30, is a veteran for a Titans offense looking to rebuild behind Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.

Falcons second-year coach Raheem Morris was the team’s wide receivers coach when Ridley was drafted. Morris served three seasons as the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator before he was hired as Atlanta’s coach last year.

“I was a Calvin Ridley fan when I left, I was a Calvin Ridley fan when I was gone and I’m a Calvin Ridley fan now,” Morris said Tuesday.

The Titans and Falcons will have another joint practice on Wednesday before playing a preseason game on Friday night.

The Titans, trying to improve from a 3-14 finish last season, had few highlights following Ridley’s big catch to open the joint practice.

“We’ve got to go watch the film and see where we can execute better,” said Tennessee center Corey Levin, who said the Falcons “have a pretty fired-up group over there. We have to come out fired up tomorrow.”

The Titans are completing a two-week trip that began with a joint practice at Tampa Bay before Saturday night’s 29-7 loss to the Buccaneers.

Ridley said the Titans will benefit from extended time on the road “because it’s hard.”

“We don’t feel good,” Ridley said. “Everyone’s sleeping in different beds. But we’re putting it together. And having a day like this … we want to do better. So we’re going to come back and want to do better.”

QB plans

Morris said Falcons starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will be held out for the second straight preseason game on Friday.

Morris said “we’ll talk about” possibly playing veteran backup Kirk Cousins, who also did not play in last week’s 17-10 loss to Detroit.

Ward completed five of eight passes for 67 yards in the loss to the Buccaneers.

Linebacker transactions

The Titans made four moves with linebackers. Khaleke Hudson and Blake Lynch were signed. Anfernee Orji was waived/injured and David Gbenda was waived.

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