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With his ninth season in the NFL complete, Roddy White is now thinking about his future. Fortunately for the Falcons, that future will likely run its course in Atlanta.
White is under contract for the 2014 season, but an extension is already on his mind. ESPN's Vaughn McClure spoke with White about his plans going forward. It's clear the team's all-time leading receiver wants to remain a Falcon.
Here's what he had to say about a potential contract extension this offseason.
"I hope it gets done,'' White said. "If it doesn't, I have one year left on my contract. I'll play it out and I'll go from there. But I want to be here, no doubt about it. I've spent my whole career here. And I love the organization. I love everyone in it. So that will be the next step. But I do know this is a business. Things happen.''
It's good to see Roddy being so down to earth about his situation. The Falcons should give him the chance to finish out his career here. Obviously we don't want to see them overpay for an aging receiver, but he showed at the end of 2013 how effective he can be when healthy.
Clearly the Falcons are reciprocating Roddy's wishes.
#Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said the team is looking forward to signing Roddy White to a contract extension.
— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@AJCFalcons) December 30, 2013
Well, that was easy. So how long is White planning on playing?
"How many more years? I think three or four,'' he said. "I don't want to be an ironman like Tony [Gonzalez]. He was blessed to go through his stint in the NFL because 17 seasons is a long time to play football, man. I was thinking if I could just get 10, I'll be all right.''
No Randy Moss or Chad OchoJohnsoncinco approach here. Hopefully White sticks to his word. Pro Football Focus examined the productivity of receivers compared to age (it's from a fantasy perspective, but you get the point). We see wideouts start to hit a bit of a wall around 35. White just turned 32, so we're not pressing for time here. His three of four year estimate, though, seems on par with what it should be.
He already holds the team records for career receptions and receiving yards. He needs six touchdowns to break Terance Mathis' mark of 57. White needs 10 touchdowns to break Michael Turner's franchise record of 61 career touchdowns.
It'll be a sad day when Roddy isn't playing for the Falcons. But it doesn't look like we'll have to worry about that, at least for a few years.