Owner Arthur Blank would 'love to have' receiver Calvin Ridley back with Atlanta Falcons next season

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said the franchise would «absolutely» like to have receiver Calvin Ridley back with the team next year while also acknowledging they will eventually need a succession plan for quarterback Matt Ryan.

Ridley missed 12 games last season for Atlanta dealing with mental health issues — not traveling to London with the club for their win against the Jets and then announcing on Halloween he was stepping away from football to work on himself.

Ridley, who had his fifth-year option picked up by the club in May, has not spoken publicly since leaving the team. Atlanta placed him on the non-football injury list. On Wednesday, Blank said Atlanta has supported him as much as it could throughout the season and will continue to do so.

«It's a difficult journey. It's not unique in America,» Blank said. «It's not unique on sports teams or in community populations. There's a lot of trauma today. And so I think he's committed to resolving his issues and getting them behind him. Doesn't mean they're necessarily out of his head but they are behind him and he'll be able to function fully, not only on the field but off the field as well. So where that'll take him, I don't know.

»I know we've done everything we possibly could do to be there for him and we'll see how that unfolds in terms of him with our team or the future with us or somebody else in the NFL."

Falcons coach Arthur Smith continually declined to answer questions about Ridley during the season, saying once there was an update, he would give one. At the Senior Bowl last week, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said there was no update on Ridley, either.

Blank said Ridley, who had 31 catches for 281 yards last season, is a «great player» and