Roddy White Injury Update: Falcons WR to Undergo Minor Elbow Surgery

The Atlanta Falcons will be without wide receiver Roddy White for the rest of the preseason, but he is expected back by Week 1.

The team’s official Twitter account noted Sunday that White “is having a procedure done on his elbow tomorrow,” and head coach Dan Quinn thinks the receiver will be back by the regular season.

In fact, Quinn removed any doubt, per Andrew Hirsch of AtlantaFalcons.com:

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Quinn on Roddy's situation: "He'll certainly be back for Week 1."

— Andrew Hirsh (@andrewhirsh) August 23, 2015"

White tallied 921 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches in 2014 and was part of the league’s fifth-best passing offense alongside wide receiver Julio Jones and quarterback Matt Ryan.

While Falcons fans are likely relieved he is expected back by the start of the season, Chris Wesseling of NFL.com pointed out that early health concerns are not a favorable sign:

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The concern for Atlanta is that age and injuries are catching up to a four-time Pro Bowl receiver who turns 34 in November.

An iron man early in his career, White has battled a litany of injuries since his 2013 season was ravaged by ankle, hamstring and shoulder issues. He had to have his knee drained prior to minicamp in June and was planning to do so again during the 2015 season.

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The silver lining is the Falcons start the season on Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles. That means White will have an extra day to heal and should at least have fresh legs because he will miss the remaining preseason contests.

If White suffers an unexpected setback and actually misses the season opener, the Falcons still have Jones and Leonard Hankerson as pass-catching options.

Ryan seemed more than comfortable throwing to Hankerson this preseason given his comments to Falcons radio analyst Dave Archer, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com: “I think Hank is doing an awesome job. He's a guy that shows up every day. He works extremely hard. He's a quieter guy, but he's intense. I've been really pleased with what he's brought to our team.”

White gives the Falcons aerial assault an extra weapon, but they face an Eagles secondary that finished 31st in the league against the pass last season. Ryan, Jones and Hankerson should still be able to move the ball without White during that first game if the veteran receiver doesn’t return as expected.