Roddy White and the Falcons had been hoping to hammer out a new contract for the veteran receiver following the draft, but a life situation has put those talks on hold, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. White’s half-brother Tyron Moore Jr. was fatally shot on May 17, and neither the player nor the team feel comfortable negotiating a deal so soon after Moore’s passing.
Still, with White entering the final year of his contract, the two sides are expected to revisit the subject a little later in the offseason. Rapoport writes that an extension is expected to be finalized in time for training camp, and points to Brandon Marshall‘s new three-year, $30MM deal as a potential point of comparison.
After citing Marshall’s deal, Rapoport concedes that the Bears star is a couple years younger than White, which figures to be reflected in their respective contracts. Marshall is also coming off two of his best seasons, while White was slowed by injuries last season and caught just 63 balls for 711 yards, his lowest marks since the 2006 season. As ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure detailed earlier in May, a better comparable for White may be Reggie Wayne, who signed a three-year, $17.5MM extension with the Colts at age 33 — White turns 33 this fall.
Last week, Falcons owner Arthur Blank expressed optimism that White and fellow wideout Julio Jones spend their entire careers in Atlanta, so the team figures to eventually shift its attention to an extension for Jones. The former sixth overall pick is currently under contract through 2015, after the Falcons exercised his fifth-year option for that season.