ICYMI: Atlanta Falcons Honor Mike Vick, Roddy White At Retirement Reception

ATLANTA, GA -- Two of the most exciting players in Atlanta Falcons history were honored Monday in a retirement reception put on by the team. Former quarterback Mike Vick and receiver Roddy White will both be recognized for their contributions to the Falcons.

Quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Matt Schaub were among the many NFL athletes at the reception, which stopped short of having Vick re-sign with the Falcons to have his jersey retired in red and black. SIGN UP: To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Atlanta Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.

In a video uploaded to Twitter by the Falcons official account, Vick said that he was "humbled. I accept this day with a great deal of humility. It doesn't get any better than this. Go, Falcons."

Vick is being welcomed back into the Falcons' good graces after being let go by the team in 2009 after he was convicted of abusing dogs. The quarterback served nearly two years in prison before being readmitted into the NFL -- but by then, the Falcons had moved on. The next year, Vick was named a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles.

In a letter to the city in February, Vick said that his best years were when he was wearing a red and black jersey.

White was Atlanta's star receiver for most of his 11 seasons before retiring in 2016. After a touchdown in 2010, he famously held up an undershirt that said "Free Mike Vick" (see top image).

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White said that Vick was one of the first players to believe in him when he joined the Falcons.

"He told me I was going to be a star in this league," White told ESPN. "He always believed in me from day one, from the time he met me and when we were going through OTA practices. Since that day, we always connected. We always had a bond."

Both former players were pulling for Atlanta to win the Super Bowl in February. After the Falcons' loss, White said he was angry with Atlanta's playcalling.

"Yeah, because you destroyed a dream of a city," he said in a high-profile podcast days after the game. It's way bigger than me. The city of Atlanta needed that championship. They had it. Arthur Blank deserved to win that championship, all the coaching changes we went through. It was finally our time to win and it hurt me."

White, who joined the NFL after the 2005 draft, leaves the game as the Falcons' all-time leading receiver (10,863 yards on 808 catches and 63 touchdowns).

Vick, who joined the Falcons as the No. 1 pick in 2001, holds the rushing record for NFL quarterbacks (6,109 yards).

Image via Chris Graythen / Staff / Getty Images Sport