Gene Frenette: NFL players not learning lessons from gambling missteps of Jaguars' Ridley
The Jacksonville Jaguars are pretty much assured of one game-planning aspect for their Sept. 10 season opener against the Indianapolis Colts: quarterback Trevor Lawrence can count on Indy fourth-year cornerback and potential starter Isaiah Rodgers covering nobody.
Apparently, Rodgers and several other NFL players didn’t take it seriously enough when Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley, back when he was a member of the Atlanta Falcons, got suspended for the entire 2022 season after gambling on NFL games while on the team’s non-football illness list.
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Rodgers is widely reported to be the latest target of a league investigation into gambling on NFL games from the team facility, including some bets on Colts games.
He has acknowledged unspecified wrongdoing on social media, but if the preliminary reports are accurate, he likely won’t be suiting up against the Jaguars or any other games in 2023.
“The last thing I ever wanted to do was to be a distraction to the Colts organization, my coaches and my teammates,” said Rodgers’ statement. “I made an error in judgment and am going to work hard to make sure that those mistakes are rectified through this process.”
Before Rodgers' gambling issues were uncovered, the NFL suspended five players in April — including Detroit Lions 2022 first-round draft pick Jameson Williams and three of his teammates — for violating the NFL’s gambling policy. Two of those Lions, safety C.J. Moore and receiver Quintez Cephus, have already been released.
Depending on whether players bet on NFL games or just other sports, the suspensions were either indefinite (1-year minimum) or six games, the latter being the case for Williams and Lions receiver Stanley Berryhill. Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Torey received an indefinite suspension on April 21 for betting on NFL games.
You’d think seeing Ridley getting benched for an entire season would have been a wakeup call for NFL players. Still, they keep ignoring league warnings to not place bets on their phones from the team facility and some even continue to wager on NFL games, with a second wave of investigations reportedly on the way.
These are major punishments for violations players ought to know translate into a significant loss of income, as well as being a career-ender for fringe players struggling to stay on a roster.
For the NFL, which used to frown on any gambling connection and now gladly accepts advertising dollars from multiple sports books, just the perception of penalizing players for gambling comes across as a double standard.
But since the league gets to make the rules, players must be compliant, which means staying away from betting on NFL games and placing wagers from the team facility. Given the assortment of other sports available for betting when players are not at work, it’s not hard to avoid a suspension.
When someone of Ridley’s caliber is forced into football exile for a year, that should send a clear message to curb their betting activities. Especially at work.
Instead, some players are apparently too naïve or bored to stop gambling with their job security.
Pushing for 500 club
Whether an NFL offense can be considered elite is a subjective thing. It’s often contingent on accomplishments of the quarterback, but a fair barometer would be teams who reach the single-season plateau of scoring 500 points.
That feat has been accomplished 27 times in league history (25 times in the last 30 years) since the Washington Redskins first did it behind quarterback Joe Theismann in 1983.
Asked about the possibility of the Jaguars hitting that 500-point mark in 2023 (franchise record is 417 points), especially with Ridley on board and the team investing its top three draft picks on offense, receiver Christian Kirk didn’t rule it out.
“I would love that,” said Kirk. “You can never have enough firepower, and thankfully, we’ve added a lot. I think that’s going to help us in the long run. I wouldn’t put a cap or a limit on what we’re able to accomplish this season.”
Campaigning for Fred Taylor
If Fred Taylor can take the next step as a Hall of Fame candidate and become one of the 15 finalists, maybe he should lobby to send Jaguars defensive line coach Brentson Buckner to present his case before the voters.
Buckner, who started his playing career with the Pittsburgh Steelers before Taylor was drafted and played against him in 1999 and 2003, is adamant about Freddy T being enshrined in Canton.
“They shouldn’t put another running back in the Hall of Fame before Fred Taylor,” said Buckner. “I think it’s a travesty he’s not in the Hall of Fame. No offense to the guys who are in there, but Fred should have a bust in the Hall of Fame.
“I know in Pittsburgh, he was our nightmare. Fred is a complete back. People need to start looking at tape and not worrying about how many All-Pros and Pro Bowls somebody’s got.”
Actually, Taylor, who made only one Pro Bowl, was a thorn for the Steelers only after Buckner left Pittsburgh. While Buckner was with the San Francisco 49ers, Taylor set the Jaguars’ single-game record in 2000 against the Steelers with 234 rushing yards.
Murphy can still rake
Former Englewood High and Jacksonville University star Daniel Murphy, who came out of retirement at 38 to play for the independent Long Island Ducks, hasn’t forgotten how to hit a baseball.
Through 35 games in the Atlantic League, the ex-New York Met is hitting .341 with two home runs and 19 RBI. He’s struck out only 14 times in 135 at-bats. Murphy told the Times-Union in April that if an MLB club needs a left-handed bat off the bench, he’s open to the possibility of resurrecting his career on baseball’s biggest stage.
Portal loading by UF hoops
After his debut season went downhill with the loss of center Colin Castleton to injury, Florida basketball coach Todd Golden made a concerted effort to acquire depth and proven players from the transfer portal.
The Gators’ second-year coach seemingly put a cherry on the nation’s No. 1 transfer class (according to EvanMyia.com) Thursday when UC Riverside grad transfer Zyon Pullin, a 6-foot-4 guard who averaged 18.3 points per game last season, signed with UF.
Of the five players Golden plucked from the portal, it’s likely three, and maybe four, transfers could be starters next season. Iona guard Walter Clayton Jr., Marshall center Micah Handlogter and Seton Hall power forward Tyrese Samuel, along with Pullin, figure to get heavy minutes.
It’s an impressive roster overhaul. With Riley Kugel foregoing the NBA Draft to stay in school, Golden has enough talent to get Florida back to the NCAA Tournament if all these new arrivals have the right chemistry.
Quick-hitting nuggets
Florida State’s softball team threw a brief scare into Oklahoma on Thursday night, but the Sooners’ offensive machine and shutdown pitching proved to be too much in a two-game sweep for their third consecutive NCAA title. Only a Mack Leonard solo homer in Game 2 prevented OU from winning by back-to-back shutouts. The Sooners (61-1) achieving the unprecedented feat of scoring 500-plus runs in three straight years is a testament to the potency of their dynasty. …
The two best nicknames among the Jaguars’ rookie draft class belong to a pair of seventh-round picks, defensive tackle Raymond Vohasek and seventh-round guard Cooper Hodges from Baker County High. Vohasek was known as the “Vanilla Gorilla” at North Carolina, while Hodges — forced to come up with a nickname that is customary for all Jaguars’ offensive linemen — told position coach Phil Rauscher he wants to be known as “Tugboat.” When asked to reveal nicknames of veteran offensive linemen, Rauscher declined, saying: “I could possibly pay consequences for telling you all that.” …
After all the PGA Tour-LIV Golf turmoil and the two parties shockingly merging their operations, would the United States Golf Association dare spice things up by putting LIV detractor Rory McIlroy and his despised colleague, Phil Mickelson, in the same grouping for next week’s U.S. Open? You have to admit that would get eyeballs parked in front of TV sets.
Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Exile of Jaguars' WR Ridley for gambling ignored by too many NFL players
