Roddy White

Early years

White attended James Island High School in Charleston, South Carolina, and was a four-sport letterman and standout in football, baseball, soccer, and wrestling. In football, he was a two-time All-Lowcountry honoree, a two-time All-State honoree, and was also listed as one of the top receivers in the nation on Rivals.com. In wrestling, he was a two-time state champion often pinning his opponent in a move that was coined the "Shanaz".

College career

White attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he was a standout wide receiver for the UAB Blazers football team. He caught 163 passes for 3,112 yards and 26 touchdowns in four seasons. In 2004, White helped UAB to their first bowl game in school history. In the 2004 Hawaii Bowl, White caught six passes for 113 yards and a touchdown in the 59-40 loss to the Hawaii Warriors. He finished his senior season with 71 receptions for 1,452 yards and 14 scores.

2005 season

White saw instant action in his rookie campaign with the Atlanta Falcons. He ranked fourth among all rookie wide receivers in 2005. Although a high ankle sprain caused him to remain on the sidelines for much of the preseason, he recovered by Week 2 and was put on the team's roster. In Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings, he was inserted in the lineup as the No. 3 receiver. During the course of the game, he recorded 64 yards on 5 catches. However, during the rest of the season, his performance was generally spotty. He made a fantastic leaping catch over three defenders on a trick play against the New Orleans Saints during Week 14 for a 54-yard touchdown, but dropped a crucial touchdown catch the next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In spite of this, he still had 108 yards receiving in that game, the second-highest receiving total put up by a rookie wide receiver in 2005, only surpassed by Jaguars receiver Matt Jones (117 yards vs. Baltimore).

2006 season

In the 2006 season, White appeared in all 16 games and started five. He recorded 30 receptions for 505 yards in his second season.

2007 season

In the Falcons' 2007 game against NFC South rival New Orleans Saints, White showed his support for fellow Falcon Michael Vick by wearing a T-shirt that said "Free Mike Vick" and pulling up his jersey after scoring a touchdown. Earlier that day, Vick was sentenced to 23 months in jail on dogfighting charges. White was fined $10,000 by the league for his actions.

White became the first Falcon wide receiver since 1999 to reach 1,000 single-season receiving yards on December 23, 2007. He also finished tied for 8th among all NFL wide receivers in receiving yards in 2007 with 1,202 yards. He had 6 receiving touchdowns. This record has since been broken by Julio Jones.

2008 season

White's 2008 season was an improvement over the previous year, finishing fourth in the NFL in receiving yards (3rd in the NFC). He finished the year with 1,382 receiving yards (career high and team record), 88 receptions (career high), and 7 touchdowns (career high). He broke Alfred Jenkins's team record of 1,358 receiving yards, which stood since 1981.

On December 16, 2008, White was named to the 2009 Pro Bowl along with fellow Falcons RB Michael Turner.

White had one reception for 26 yards and one rush for seven yards in the 2009 Pro Bowl.

2009 season

On July 31, 2009, White began a holdout, boycotting the 2009 training camp in an attempt at an early contract extension. On August 8, he signed a six-year, $48 million contract extension with $18.6 million guaranteed and $28 million over the first three years of the deal. The extension makes him the 5th highest paid wide receiver in the league, behind Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald, Carolina's Steve Smith, Chicago's Brandon Marshall, and Houston's Andre Johnson.

On October 11, 2009, White set the Falcons franchise record for single-game receiving yards in a game against the San Francisco 49ers. He had 8 receptions for a career-high 210 yards as well as 2 touchdowns, one of which was for 90 yards. This record has been broken by Julio Jones, who received an astounding 300+ yards against the Carolina Panthers in a game during the 2016-2017 season.

White finished the 2009 season with 85 receptions, 1,153 yards, and a career-high 11 touchdowns. He became only the second Falcon player to record three straight 1,000 yard seasons. On January 26, 2010, White was selected to his second consecutive Pro Bowl.

White led all receivers in the 2010 Pro Bowl in catches with eight for 84 yards.

2010 season

In the first game of the 2010 season, White had a career-high 13 receptions against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 2010, White led the NFL in receptions with 115 and the NFC in receiving yards with 1,389. He also had 10 touchdowns for the year.

White led the NFC Pro Bowl team with 69 yards.

2011 season

In the 2011 season, White started in all 16 games. He recorded 100 receptions for 1,296 yards and eight touchdowns.

On January 11, 2012 White was added to the NFC Pro Bowl Roster replacing Lions WR Calvin Johnson due to a sore Achilles tendon.

In 2011, White broke the Falcons all-time receiving yards record.

2012 season

In the 2012 season, White appeared in all 16 games and started 15. He recorded 92 receptions for 1,351 yards and seven touchdowns.

2013 season

During the 2013 season, White was dealing with an ankle injury and a hamstring injury, which caused him to get off to a very slow start. In Week 7, White missed the first game in his nine-year NFL career ending his streak of playing in 133 straight games.

2014 season

On July 24, 2014, White signed a contract extension worth $30 million over four years.

On November 16, 2014, against the Carolina Panthers, Roddy joined the 10,000 yard receiving club with 75 receiving yards for a total of 10,002 yards.

2015 season

In the 2015 season, White would start in all 16 games. He had 43 receptions for 506 yards and one touchdown. His yardage and reception totals were his fewest since his second season in the NFL in 2006.

On March 2, 2016, White was released by the Falcons.

Retirement

After not playing at all in the 2016 season, White officially announced his retirement from the NFL on April 14, 2017. On June 12, 2017, White retired as an Atlanta Falcon.

Roddy White currently coaches wide receivers at Johns Creek High School in Johns Creek, GA.

Falcons franchise records

Personal life

White is the father of three children. His half-brother, Tyrone Moore Jr., was shot dead outside the Lake House Club nightclub in James Island, South Carolina on May 18, 2014.

Controversy

In 2007, White was fined $10,000 by the NFL for displaying a shirt in support of Michael Vick who was at the time serving a prison sentence for a criminal conviction related to dog fighting.

At the conclusion of the 2013 George Zimmerman trial, White was upset with the verdict of not guilty, and he posted several controversial statements on Twitter, including "Fucking Zimmerman got away with murder today wow what kind of world do we live in". He received the most backlash for the following tweet: "All them jurors should go home tonight and kill themselves for letting a grown man get away with killing a kid". After a few hours, he complained that "people on Twitter want me to get in trouble for a tweet", but he apologized the next day.

In 2014, White was criticized for reneging on a public bet he tweeted regarding a Duke win in the 2014 NCAA basketball championship. White had promised season tickets, front row at the 50-yard line. When White lost the bet, he offered a ticket to a Bears game instead. White later upheld his end of the deal and more, including two Super Bowl tickets stating, "We have talked about it for days while people were just speculating. And being a father, you have to be responsible for your actions."