Roddy White to TMZ: Falcons will win Super Bowl 'with what we got'
TMZ Sports recently got a hold of Atlanta Falcons Ring of Fame wide receiver Roddy White at LAX.
The paparazzi reporter asked White about a number of topics, including what he thought about the Falcon fans who have voiced desires of wanting the franchise to move on from Matt Ryan.
"That's crazy," White said.
Ryan, 34, is entering the third year of a five-year, $150 million contract. Last season, he threw for 4,466 yards, 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 15 games. Ryan was also sacked a career-high 48 times in 2019.
"At this point of his career, he owns every record for a quarterback up 'til this point, which is ridiculous," White said. "Passing yards, completion percentage, all that stuff. So for people to say that, that's just crazy to me, man."
White also said the process to bring in and develop another quarterback is too long for a roster like Atlanta's.
"We don't have time for that, we're trying to win a Super Bowl," White said.
The reporter then asked what the key was then for Atlanta to win a championship.
"We gone win with what we got," White said. "We straight."
The relationship between Matt Ryan and the city of Atlanta has always been an interesting one, to say the least.
Just a quick refresher, Michael Vick, who revolutionized the position, was the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons in the early 2000s. His meteoric rise to fame coincided with the city's image to becoming "Black Hollywood" and the new capital of hip hop. Not only did Vick play the position in a new, exciting way, he did it wearing cornrows, headbands and baggy sweatsuits. He fit the city's image perfectly ⏤ on and off the field.
Vick then went to prison for two years.
After a year of horrific football led by the likes of Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich, the Falcons drafted their next franchise quarterback in 2008.
Matthew Thomas Ryan out of Boston College was the third overall pick in the draft, and the rest was history. The 6-foot-4 field general from the Philadelphian-suburb Exton led the franchise to an 11-5 record and a playoff appearance in his first season.
Since then, he's been named the NFL MVP and is widely-regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the past decade.
There are still a large amount of No. 7 Vick jerseys walking around Atlanta on a regular basis. Famous Falcon fan and Athens-based rapper Quavo from Migos has gone on the record multiple times and said the franchise should move on from Ryan. Last November, he suggested the Falcons should bench Ryan in favor of Colin Kaepernick.
"Put Matt on ice, put Quavo in tonight," the rapper once said to the paparazzi.
In contrast to Vick, Ryan isn't black, he isn't from the south, he hasn't dressed in the clothes today's hip-hop artists wear. He's just himself, and despite his accolades, part of the city has never fully embraced him like it embraced Vick.
