Falcons' Roddy White ends hold out

By D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Falcons Pro Bowl wide receiver Roddy White signed a contract extension Saturday night, ending his holdout that began July 31.

“We’re always going to be an organization that rewards players for being productive on the field and good citzens off of it,” said Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff. “We are glad to get this contract situation resolved and look forward to a long association with Roddy.”

Terms were not available. Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald is the NFL’s top-paid receiver with a four-year, $40 million contract.

The deal ends White’s eight-day holdout. He was fined $15,888 per day during the holdout. White is expected to attend practice Monday.

“Roddy is extremely happy that this was able to be resolved so that he can rejoin his teammates,” said Jonathan Feinsod, White’s agent.

The signing of White was extremely important to the continued growth of second-year quarterback Matt Ryan and the offense. Last season, Ryan threw 34 percent of his pass attempts in White’s direction as he guided the team to an 11-5 record and playoff appearance.

White turned in a spectacular season in 2008, setting a franchise record with 1,382 yards and earning his first Pro Bowl trip. It was White’s second consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season.

White did not report to training camp for the first team meeting and was considered a holdout. Initially, the team thought White would sign quickly.

The negotiations took a turn for the worse midweek as both sides held firmly to their positions. The Falcons were considering pulling their offer and re-addressing White’s situation after the season.

White was in the last year of a five-year contract that was scheduled to pay him $2.28 million this season.

Over the past 24 hours, negotiations took off again, culminating in the new deal.

Under Dimitroff, the Falcons have made it a practice to sign their own players before they become free agents.

Last season, the Falcons reached contract extensions with wide receiver Michael Jenkins and defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux during the season.

Jenkins received a four-year contract worth $20 million, and Babineaux a five-year contract for an undisclosed amount.

White, who was drafted 27th in the first round of the 2005 draft from UAB, caught 83 passes for 1,202 yards and six touchdowns as the team went 4-12 in 2008.

The Falcons’ wide receiver corps suffered a blow when Harry Douglas tore the ACL in his left knee Wednesday and was lost for the season. The Falcons contended that losing Douglas did not affect White’s negotiations.

They also signed free-agent wide receivers Robert Ferguson and Marty Booker on Thursday to help boost the unit.