Former Falcons star takes a shot at Sean Payton after Russell Wilson debacle
He might not be in the NFC South anymore but Atlanta Falcons fans still take great pleasure whenever Sean Payton makes a boneheaded mistake. The latest rough chapter for Payton, who took over as the head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2023, is still the $85 million in dead money Denver owes Russell Wilson after releasing him last week.
Former Falcons wide receiver Roddy White didn't mince words when blasting Payton on X. White tweeted that time has passed Payton by and it doesn't matter who he gets in the draft. He points out that former Saints quarterback Drew Brees carried Payton and that the long-time Saints head coach has done nothing since Brees retired following the 2020 season.
Sean Peyton time has passed him by don’t matter who he gets in the draft drew carried that man and he ain’t done nothing since.
— Roddy White (@roddywhiteTV) March 13, 2024
Roddy White slams Sean Payton on social media
White is no stranger to Payton, as he and the Falcons were all too familiar with him and the Saints during his career. White was a first-round pick by the Falcons in 2005, one year before the Saints hired Payton, and spent the entirety of his 11-year career in Atlanta.
During that time, the Falcons and Saints rivalry was electric and unfortunately, White and the Falcons went 7-15 against New Orleans. He had just shy of 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns in 22 games against the hated Saints.
Shifting back to Payton, he stepped away from the Saints following the 2021 season and spent the 2022 season as an analyst with FOX. He then was traded to the Broncos in the 2023 offseason and took as their head coach, a decision that's looking more questionable by the day. The Broncos went 8-9 under Payton but he wasn't able to fix Russell Wilson and make the team a playoff contender.
While Wilson didn't perform poorly this past season, Payton clearly didn't want him as his quarterback and instead opted to eat $85 million in dead money. Now the Broncos are in quarterback purgatory with no Drew Brees in sight to help Payton out. White said that Payton hasn't done anything without Brees and while we only have a small sample size of him without Brees, that has proven to be correct so far.
Falcons fans are definitely enjoying this exchange, that's for sure.
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