Falcons wide receiver Roddy White is not impressed by his own gaudy numbers.
He’s not impressed that he likely will go down as the greatest wide receiver in franchise history.
White, 32, who signed a four-year performance-based deal that could possibly be worth $30 million, is not ready to consider his legacy or his place in team annals.
“I haven’t thought about it,” White said after going through the first practice of training camp Friday.
“My legacy is that when I first came here, I wanted to win a Super Bowl. If we win a Super Bowl, that’s all I care about.”
After a slow start to his career, White has helped power the Falcons to the playoffs four times, twice as the No. 1 seed, but the team has failed to reach the Super Bowl.
“At the end of the day, you catch a lot of balls and you have a lot of yards and stuff like that, people only remember championships,” said White, who was selected 27th in the 2005 draft out of UAB.
“You watch every show, and you hear Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin talk, that’s what they talk about. They talk about guys that have won championships. Those are the guys that go into the Hall of Fame.”
White already holds most of the team’s key receiving records. He has the most yards (9,436), most games played at wide receiver (141) and most catches (685). He has 55 touchdowns, which trail Terance Mathis’ mark of 57.
White had an incredible run from 2007-12, when he amassed at least 1,100 yards receiving. In 2010, he led the league with 115 catches. He’s the only player to lead the Falcons in receiving six seasons.
The great Alfred Jenkins led the team in receiving five times (1975, 76, 77, 1980 and 1981). Ken Burrow, Andre Rison and Mathis led the Falcons in receiving three times.
White doesn’t even want to think about the Hall of Fame and how tough it is for wide receivers to be enshrined.
“To get in there you have to win some championships, and you’ll be fine,” White said.
White and his buddy Larry Fitzgerald have discussed the topic. They spent time together this offseason training in Arizona.
“We were talking about it, and the numbers that he’s put up are gaudy, and he’s still rolling,” White said.
“When we sit down to talk, we say that we have to go out there and win championships. Everybody remembers the runs and all of the catches, but when you win championships, that’s how your legacy gets posted.”
Emotionally, White is still working to deal with the personal tragedy that claimed his younger brother Tyrone Moore Jr. in a senseless shooting. The perpetrator has been arrested, but that doesn’t help heal the pain.
“There are always going to be ups and downs, especially on days that are important to us as a family concerning my brother, but every day you have to learn how to get better,” White said.
“That’s been what me and my mom have been preaching every day. That’s just it. We just have to continue to move forward from that and just learn from it.”
A few weeks after the funeral, White’s mother, Joenethia, was married in Charleston, S.C. White enjoyed that happy time with his family.
But back to football.
White didn’t want a holdout like he had before the 2009 season.
“It was important to me to get the deal done,” White said. “When we got it done, I was so happy that I’m going to be here for the next couple of years. Hopefully, we can go out there and we can win a Super Bowl.”
From 2010-12, White posted one of the more impressive runs by any receiver in NFL history. He finished the 2012 season with 92 catches and 1,351 yards, becoming the fifth player to record three consecutive seasons with 90-plus receptions and 1,200-plus yards.
White joined Marvin Harrison (1999-2002), Torry Holt (2002-05), Jerry Rice (1993-96), and Chad Johnson (2003-05) as the only players to accomplish that feat.
White had low expectations when he entered the league.
“I just wanted to play five years,” White said. “That’s crazy. But over time, when you get to this point, it’s been really, really good.
“We’ve won a lot of games. Especially since coach (Mike) Smith got here. It’s been a heck of a ride. I just hope that it continues this way and we continue to win games.”
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