Falcons Experts Roundtable

Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

What Should Atlanta do with Roddy White and his contract situation?

Ben Grazebrook: Roddy White is one of the Falcons all time great players. While he struggled last year, Roddy showed at the back end of the season that he is far from done and still has plenty left in the tank. While not as explosive as Julio Jones, White is vital to the Falcons and Matt Ryan and with the retirement of Tony Gonzalez Ryan will be leaning on White even more in third down situations. Roddy deserves to be a lifelong Falcon and has shown an interest in doing so. The Falcons should sign White to a new contract that would keep him in Atlanta for the long haul while hopefully lowering his cap number for 2014 so as to increase the Falcons cap room this off-season.

Ben Sullivan: I’m the lone wolf on this one, but I really think that the Falcons need to take a long, hard look at whether or not keeping him around is in their best interests. He’s 32-years-old and starting to show wear and tear on his body. He’s right at the point where receivers start to decline. I’d be fine if he would stick around for a really friendly contract, but that’s unlikely to happen. Teams too often hamstring their chances to win by being too loyal to a guy who’s best years are behind him. I hate how much I say this, but I really hope I’m wrong on this one.

Robert Stephens: Roddy White has been incredible for the offense since Matt Ryan came along.  He’s tough, rarely out, and about as reliable as you could want a receiver to be.  He’s also the biggest Falcon fan there is.  If anyone would take a slightly smaller contract to retire a Falcon, It’d be White.  He only would want to play three more years or so.  I’d say make him happy and have him retire in Atlanta.  He still has plenty to offer and would have no problem living up to whatever his salary would be since he’s still one of the best receivers in the league.

Jake Bennett: Roddy White is the Falcons All-Time Leading Receiver and should be extended; a 2013 injury isn’t going to change that.  I could definitely see Roddy taking a 3 year deal worth around 15 million, allowing him to not only retire a Falcon, but also be cap friendly.  Atlanta will need to start looking for a receiver in the next year or two that could learn under him, because behind Julio and Harry, there isn’t much certainty.