Calvin Ridley most recently played in an NFL game on Oct. 24, 2021, for the Atlanta Falcons. When the NFL kicks off its 2023 season in September, the former Alabama wide receiver hopes to be in the lineup for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

For that to happen, Ridley will need the NFL’s permission.

On Wednesday, Ridley applied to be reinstated from an indefinite suspension imposed by the NFL on March 7 for betting on football. Wednesday was the first day that Ridley could ask to have his suspension lifted.

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The NFL said Ridley placed bets over a five-day period in November 2021, when he was on the non-football injury/illness list and away from the Falcons.

The NFL does not allow betting on its games by its players, coaches or any other team and league personnel. The league’s gambling policy states: “NFL personnel are restricted or prohibited from engaging in the following gambling-related activities, regardless of whether such activities are legal,” and the first prohibited activity listed is “betting on football.”

“All NFL personnel are prohibited from placing, soliciting or facilitating any bet, whether directly or indirectly through a third-party, on any NFL game, practice or other event,” the league’s gambling policy states. “This includes betting on game outcome, statistics, score, performance of any individual participant or any other kind of ‘proposition bet’ on which wagering is offered.”

Violators of the provision become subject to disciplinary action by the NFL commissioner, including “a fine, termination of employee and/or banishment from the NFL for life.”

After missing the Falcons’ game on Oct. 31, 2021, Ridley issued a statement that read: “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.”

The Falcons placed Ridley on the non-football injury/illness list, and he hasn’t played since.

Jacksonville obtained Ridley from Atlanta in a trade-deadline deal on Nov. 1.

Ridley’s situation made for a complex trade. Jacksonville sent a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft to the Falcons. But there are conditions attached, and the 2023 pick could drop back to a sixth-rounder and the 2024 pick could wind up as a third-rounder or a second-rounder, depending on what happens with Ridley.

In his third NFL season, Ridley had 90 receptions for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns in 2020.

Because the Falcons exercised their option on Ridley’s contract in 2021 for a fifth season, the former first-round draft choice was supposed to receive a guaranteed salary of $11.116 million for the 2022 campaign. The season-long suspension caused Ridley’s 2022 contract to roll ahead and be in effect in 2023 if the wide receiver is reinstated.

In 49 NFL regular-season games, Ridley has 248 receptions for 3,342 yards and 28 touchdowns. Only four other receivers in NFL history can match Ridley’s receiving stats through their first 49 games – Odell Beckham Jr., Marques Colston, Mike Evans and A.J. Green.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.