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About 20 minutes ago, Pro Football Talk indicated there was an "80-20" chance that Roddy White would not play against the Saints today. That panicked Falcons fans and fantasy owners alike, of course.
Now there's a veritable flood of reports indicating the opposite. The Falcons are insisting Roddy will play, he's going through pre-game warmups and it seems likely he'll be out there. The question is, will he be limited? That depends on whether you believe Roddy's sprain is of the low or high ankle variety, something that's now freshly up for debate. I don't care to speculate.
Falcons insist WR Roddy White will play despite ankle injury http://t.co/qcIvoLR8N4
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 8, 2013
I was told last night Roddy White will play today, and I'm being told by two team sources at the Superdome that, yes, Roddy will play today.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) September 8, 2013
I expect Roddy to be a full go for today's game. If you're worried about fantasy and you have other great options, maybe consider sitting him, but otherwise I'd be pretty confident. He'll at least be effective at drawing attention away from Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez today, and I bet he'll reel in a few catches against a weak Saints defense. That can only help our offense.
The bigger question mark belongs to Asante Samuel, who is warming up to see if he's ready to go today. He's truly questionable. While having Roddy whill help the Falcons' dynamic offense hang points on the defense, if the Falcons have to roll without Asante Samuel they're going to be hard-pressed to stop Drew Brees and the Saints' passing attack. I'm more than a little concerned about that possibility right now.
Stay tuned for updates. Let's hope for the best.
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