While Roddy White is happy with the Falcons‘ 4-0 start, and is focused on his No. 1 goal of obtaining a championship ring, the veteran wideout tells Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com that he’s frustrated about not contributing more to those victories.
“For me, at the end of the day, I want to catch passes,” White said. “I’m not out here just f—ing around just to sit around to just block f—ing people all day. It’s not what I want to do. … I’ve contributed to offenses for this franchise for the last nine, 10 years. It always bothers me when I go out and don’t catch any balls in a game because it hasn’t happened in so long.”
Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links) speculates that White wouldn’t be averse to a trade, and adds that there are teams that would have interest in determining the receiver’s trade value. That’s not how I interpreted White’s comments though, and I’d be pretty shocked if Atlanta seriously considered that option — I think it could just be a matter of getting the longtime Falcon a few more looks going forward.
For what it’s worth, White told D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he’s not “disgruntled” — he simply wouldn’t mind a bigger role on offense.
Here are some more Tuesday odds and ends from around the NFC:
- Appearing this morning on The Dan Patrick Show, Bears running back Matt Forte was asked about the trade rumors swirling around him, and said he’s not worried, adding that “a lot of it is media speculation.” Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk has the details, along with the quotes from Forte.
- We heard on Sunday that Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree‘s 2015 season could be in jeopardy due to a right ankle injury. Josina Anderson of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that Ogletree underwent surgery and it went well, but St. Louis has yet to announce a potential timeline for his return — don’t expect him back anytime soon though, says Anderson.
- Following Kam Chancellor‘s crucial forced fumble in Monday night’s win over the Lions, Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett interrupted Chancellor’s post-game interview to implore team owner Paul Allen – the “17th-richest man in the world,” according to Bennett – to give the star safety a new contract (Twitter link via Matt Miller of Bleacher Report). Chancellor appears unlikely to negotiate a new deal until after the season, but I’m sure he appreciates the support from his teammate.
- Cardinals running back Chris Johnson admitted that he seriously contemplated retirement earlier this year after getting shot in the shoulder, as Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com details.
- In the wake of the Dolphins’ decision to fire Joe Philbin, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera told reporters that owner Jerry Richardson has assured him he wouldn’t fire him in the middle of a season, as Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer writes. Of course, with the Panthers riding a four-game winning streak, it doesn’t look like that’s something Rivera would have to had worry about in 2015 anyway.