Official preparations for the 2019 season certainly didn't get off to the start Calvin Ridley envisioned. The Atlanta Falcons star tweaked his hamstring on Thursday, just a week into training camp, and was forced to leave practice.
Fortunately for both Ridley and the Falcons, his injury doesn't appear to be of a serious nature. After Thursday's practice, coach Dan Quinn said his team's starting wide receiver was merely dealing with a “tight hamstring,” suggesting Ridley was forced to sit out as a precautionary measure.
“He had a tight hamstring,” Quinn said of Ridley, per team beat reporter Will McFadden. “He looked good, but we didn’t want, at this space, guys are really pushing to make anything where it could go longer, so I expect him to be back on the next turn through.”
Ridley reportedly came up limp while running a curl route early in Thursday's practice, immediately grabbing his hamstring. He attempted to walk off the pain and eventually received treatment from team doctors, running another route to test his capabilities before shutting it down.
The Falcons' first-round pick last year, Ridley was a revelation as a rookie. A two-time national champion at the University of Alabama, he proved just as NFL-ready as he appeared throughout his college career, immediately establishing himself as a favorite target of franchise quarterback Matt Ryan. Ridley had 64 catches for 821 yards and a team-leading 10 scores, leading Atlanta in touchdowns.
Ridley's status is especially important to the Falcons at the moment given the status of superstar wide receiver Julio Jones, who's yet to take the practice field while recovering from a foot injury. He's expected to be available comfortably before the regular season.
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