Stevan Ridley is the Latest Former Patriot to Say 'it's Personal' and He Wants Revenge

Source – When Stevan Ridley tumbled to the turf at Buffalo four seasons ago, he was one of the more successful young running backs in the league. …

[A] torn ACL and MCL suffered that October ended his season and his tenure in New England. It also sent his career in a direction he never could have anticipated. …

Now with the Steelers, Ridley has been working to break the cycle of being a backup. …

“I’m very open and I have to be real: I want this game more than any other game, man,” Ridley told The Herald. “That’s just the bottom line to it. And it’ll be that way from this year until I go in the grave. I’m just that kind of person.”

He didn’t mince words when asked why.

“I was trashed after an injury,” Ridley said. “I’m just going to put it that way. I’m not going to say specifically, but to be a starter for (the Patriots) for four years, to tear my ACL and never get a call back, that’s a tough pill to swallow.”

Ridley indicated the Patriots did not contact him after his contract expired at the end of the 2014 season.

“And now they’re still looking for a running back to try to come in and play — how many running backs have been through there to try to give them some consistency as a quote-unquote first or second down back?” Ridley said. “They’re still looking for it right now. Yeah, it’s very personal. It is.”

First of all, I feel bad for Stevan Ridley. Sincerely, I do. I liked him when he was here. He took a lot of crap for his fumbles, but not from me. In his second season he had 1,265 yards. And yes, with four fumbles, which he should not have done. But that was one fewer than Marshawn Lynch, Jamaal Charles, Chris Johnson, Willis McGahee and Fred Jackson had. Hell, Dez Bryant left the ball on the ground five times that year too. My point is, he was a serviceable and, for one season at least, legitimate top-of-the-league bellcow running back. I was a fan.

Unfortunately, when your job is to carry a ball through 11 men who were carved out of solid blocks of testosterone and their job is to see to it you don’t carry it very far, bad things can happen. ACLs and MCLs can get torn. It’s a hazard of your occupation. That doesn’t mean Ridley shouldn’t be resentful. That’s the normal, human reaction. I’m just saying he has no reason to be resentful toward the Patriots. It might sound harsh, but they didn’t owe him a living after that. And from a purely football standpoint, they made the right call.

Stevan Ridley’s numbers before and after his injuries:

Before, with the Patriots: 52 Games, 649 Attempts, 2,817 Yards, 4.3 YPA, 22 TDs
After, with the Jets, Falcons and Steelers: 20 Games, 88 Attempts, 265 Yards, 3.0 YPA, 2 TDs

It would’ve been foolish for the Pats to keep him around. It’s not personal; just business. In spite of Ridley’s opinion of the quality of their running backs since he went down in 2014, they have gone to the Super Bowl three times in four years without him.

But if he wants to make it personal, if revenge is going to fuel him in his quest to resurrect his career, more power to him. if that’s the motivation he needs? Go nuts. Personally, revenge stories are my favorite kinds of stories, whether it’s Mel Gibson or Liam Neeson or Russell Crowe or God in the Old Testament, give me some of that sweet, sweet karmic retribution any time. As long as we recognize he has no legitimate beef against the target of his anger.

Not that that will matter. The way this season has gone, I wouldn’t bet against Ridley. Virtually every time the Pats have gone up against a former employee, whether they left on good terms or bad, vengeance has been his. Matt Patricia. Mike Vrabel. Malcolm Butler. Dion Lewis (who went to great lengths to say it was personal), Brandon fucking Bolden of all people. So sure, if past is prologue, Ridley will rip off two 80-yard touchdowns and everyone should put him on their fantasy rosters right now. But still, I’m grateful to be invested in a team that doesn’t make emotional decisions like keeping injured, ineffective running backs around just because they feel bad for them. That’s why they keep winning.