Roddy White Injury: Atlanta Falcons could clear WR today

Antonio Cromartie (31) tries to tackle Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White (84) during the second quarter at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Falcons superstar wide receiver Roddy White hasn’t been able to play since injuring his hamstring in a Week 5 loss to the New York Jets, and White already had a significant ankle injury coming into the game. While White was able to play through the ankle injury through the first five weeks, it was severely limiting his effectiveness, and he actually suffered a setback on it shortly before the Jets game. It’s just been that kind of a year for White and the Atlanta Falcons, and he wasn’t able to practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

However, there is still some hope that White could play in this week’s key division game against the Carolina Panthers, which is what the Falcons were hoping for following his absence from last week’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. If White is unable to play this week, then it will be over a month between games for the Falcons star wideout.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter reports that Falcons head coach Mike Smith still hopes that team doctors will clear White to practice today. If White is unable to practice today, then there is no chance of him playing against the Panthers this week. Even if he does practice, though, there is still no guarantee that he returns. I fully expect him to play in Week 10 against the Seattle Seahawks, but his status for this week’s game is still incredibly murky. At least there’s still some optimism that he can play, so don’t rule him out just yet.

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