It is truly unclear what the Atlanta Falcons plan to do with Roddy White. The franchise wide receiver is signed through 2017 with a manageable salary cap hit and yet he is not a lock to return next season. Head coach Dan Quinn has praised the receiver's leadership and value to the team while general manager Thomas Dimitroff admits nothing is set in stone. As the Falcons interview wide receivers during Senior Bowl practices, is White preparing to get replaced?
White has been with the Falcons since they drafted him in the first round. He has been a face of the franchise, but the last two years have been rough. White struggled with injuries in 2014 while putting up just 506 yards in 2015 despite starting all 16 games. He had games without catches while openly complaining about his role on in the offense. White is set to earn $4.5 million in 2016 and he has stated that he has no plans of accepting a pay cut. As a result, he is a player being evaluated before free agency begins.
"Roddy is still under contract here," Dimitroff said, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We are in the process here of looking at, as you know, we are talking about the changes in the organization on the personnel side. "We're obviously very focused on what is going to happen with our personnel. We are smack, dab in the middle of that. We haven't made final decisions on anyone as far as moving on from people or moving on from people or re-doing contracts right at this moment."
Regardless of all the comments on White's future, releasing him seems unlikely. White is a big presence in the locker room and will be critical in helping lead young players in the next few seasons. Julio Jones made it clear that yes, the Falcons can get a speedy rookie in place, but he will make the kind of mistakes that a veteran like White will not. Quarterback Matt Ryan stressed the same thing. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that if White is truly unwilling to take a pay cut, the Falcons might be forced to release him. However, if he really wants to stay with the franchise, he will have to be willing to restructure a bit.
In the meantime, the Falcons are looking at options in the NFL Draft. Quinn and Dimitroff are in Alabama for the Senior Bowl and have taken interest in several rookie receivers. Braxton Miller has been turning a lot of heads at practices. The former Ohio State receiver told the media that he would love to play alongside Jones next season.
"I would love to come help out Julio in Atlanta," Miller said, via ESPN.com. "I would love to wear the red and black."
Miller would be an easy draft pick. He will likely not be picked up until the third round at the earliest. Josh Doctson or Sterling Shepard could also be options for the Falcons along with players like Travis Benjamin, Rishard Matthews and Marvin Jones in free agency. With doubt around Nick Williams and Justin Hardy, getting more talent into the offense will be key for the Falcons regardless of what happens with White.
