Roddy White Wants To Be “Falcon For Life”

Asked on Sunday about the trade rumors that have swirled around him over the last week or so, Falcons wideout Roddy White said he hadn’t heard about anything like that. As D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution details, the veteran receiver said that, despite some unhappiness with his role early in the season, he wants to remain with the Falcons for the rest of his NFL career.

“I’m a Falcon. I’ll be a Falcon for life,” White said. “I’ve dedicated everything I’ve got to this team and this organization. I’m going to continue to do that. I’m going to continue each and every week to get better, be a better football player and try to win.”

White, who turns 34 next month, has seen his usage in Atlanta’s offense drop significantly this season. After earning at least 125 targets in each of his last seven healthy seasons, White has been targeted just 17 times through five games, catching eight balls for 115 yards. After the receiver expressed some frustration with his role in the offense, multiple reports surfaced suggesting that there are a few teams with interest in the former first round pick.

However, Ledbetter reported yesterday that there’s no truth to the idea that White is on the trading block. While Ledbetter’s source denied that the Falcons have even received any calls about the wideout, I wouldn’t be surprised if a couple clubs at least inquired — those conversations would have been brief though, as it doesn’t make much sense for Atlanta to move one of its longtime players and shake things up when the team is riding a five-game winning streak.

Still, if White hopes to play out his contract with the Falcons and eventually retire with the team, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan may have to find a way to get the veteran a little more involved in the team’s game plan going forward. White has two years remaining on his contract after 2015, with cap hits exceeding $6MM in 2016 and 2017 — that’s not a price any team would want to pay for a player averaging under two receptions per game.