The Falcons have released Roddy White, a move that wasn't unexpected. He was pretty much phased out of the offense from the start of last season, falling behind Leonard Hankerson (who himself eventually fell out of favor) and Jacob Tamme for targets.
White is 34, but he doesn't seem to be quite as banged-up as the other NFC South veteran released this week, Marques Colston. It won't be surprising if some team brings White in for a look-see.
Maybe this will lead to a breakout season in Atlanta for second-year wideout Justin Hardy. The team's fourth-rounder a year ago, Hardy wasn't even active for the first seven games, but came on a little in the second half of the season. In the last three games he caught 9 passes for 85 yards. That was an average week for White not so long ago, but at least Hardy figures to be in the mix for the team's top-3 receivers.
Working against Hardy is that he's a smaller guy (5-10, 192) who may be best suited as a No. 3. It's interesting that in its coverage of White's release, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution doesn't even mention Hardy as a candidate for the "hole at No. 2 wideout." Instead, the newspaper focuses on free agent candidates: Mohamed Sanu, Rueben Randle and Rishard Matthews, among others.
What's clear is that like the No. 2 spot in New England, there should be a productive player there for Atlanta. Hankerson was productive for a while, and Tamme had some good games. White put up 900 receiving yards in 2014 even with Julio Jones going over 1,500.
It doesn't look like a great free agent market for wide receivers, but some veteran is in line for a big uptick in stats in a new home.
--Andy Richardson
