The rift between Roddy White and Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan was no secret, but now it is being offered as the reason for the wide receiver's release. Cut by the Atlanta Falcons last week, White may not have been blindsided, but the split may not have been all that amicable.
White, the Falcons' all-time leader in catches and receiving yards, does not appear to be finished playing and there is already speculation as to where he could play going into his 11th season. Shanahan often used the 34-year-old wide receiver as a decoy on the field last season, attracting the defense away from the team's other passing targets.
White's agent, Jonathan Feinsod, said Shanahan "forced" the organization to either release White or watch him go. Falcons head coach Dan Quinn stated the decision to cut White was his and his alone.
"Kyle forced the Falcons to choose between him or Roddy. This was not Roddy's choice," Feinsod said. "Over the last 11 years Roddy has played for four different head coaches. Four different offensive coordinators. Three different wide receiver coaches and one incredible owner. Their opinions of Roddy and his opinion of them would all be consistently positive. Roddy has had and continues to have an incredible professional and personal relationship with them all."
White was targeted 125 times in 2014 when Dirk Koetter was the team's offensive coordinator, which resulted in 80 catches, 921 yards and seven touchdowns. In 2015, White was targeted just 70 times and caught 43 passes for 506 yards and one touchdown. White has only seen fewer targets in two seasons, his first two in the NFL.
"I did not consult or confer with any of the assistant coaches," Quinn said. "From my long history as an assistant coach, I know often times you want to have everybody forever. I did not confer with Kyle in any way regarding this decision."
White previously said the Falcons "showed no indication" they would bring him back, as opposed to last offseason when the team assured him of his roster spot. The four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver acknowledged he and Shanahan had opposing views of how he should be used in the offense, denying speculation he was not grasping the offense.
"Man, I talked to him just about every day about everything," White said. "But it's like, 'If I'm talking to you and it's not getting no better, what do you expect from me?' He kept trying to tell you all what he's trying to do with the offense, but for the last 11 weeks of the season, we didn't do anything. We didn't turn no curves. The first four weeks were good. We went out there and scored a bunch of points and started off strong. But other than that, we didn't do nothing the rest of the year."