By: JJ Lanier

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

There are a plethora of ways franchises honor those who have made an impact on their organization.

Retiring a jersey or being inducted into a “Ring of Honor” is probably the highest, followed in no particular order, by throwing out a first pitch, being a part of the coin toss, or the always beloved “Bobblehead Day”.

Recently teams have found a way to celebrate a player’s career by signing them to a one-day contract, allowing them to retire with that particular team.

This got me thinking about what former Atlanta Falcons player, that was with the team during his prime but did not retire as a Falcon, should be brought out of retirement and signed to a one-day contract? I was not expecting the conclusion I came to.

To begin with I went ahead and eliminated names like Deion Sanders, Tony Gonzalez, and Warrick Dunn, even though all three had very successful stints in Atlanta. Sanders and Gonzalez had longer, more successful tenures with other organizations and Dunn left Atlanta to go back and retire in Tampa.

Some of the obvious names I gravitated to next were guys like Jamaal Anderson, Roddy White, Jessie Tuggle, and even Michael Turner; all players who made a significant impact during their time in Atlanta.

However, the first three played their entire careers with Atlanta and Turner finished his career there, so all four have already retired as Falcons.

Of course, at this point there’s one glaring name staring me right in the face, like my wife when she sees my clean clothes draped over the couch, and that’s Michael Vick.

On one hand there’s no player in the history of the Falcons organization that deserves to be on the receiving end of a one-day contract, and the sentiment behind it, based off of on the field production.

On the other hand, there’s also not a player in the franchise’s history that deserves to be honored in any capacity less than Vick.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit I am not an Atlanta Falcons aficionado, so I have no doubt there is some lineman or quarterback from 30 years ago that I’m unaware of. Having said that, I came up with three names I feel like would be deserving of being awarded the one-day contract: Andre Rison, Gerald Riggs, and John Abraham.

Rison was a bright spot on a struggling Falcons team during his time in Atlanta. He made four of his five Pro Bowl appearances in a Falcons uniform and spent more of his career in Atlanta than anywhere else.

Riggs is the team’s all-time leading rusher (6,631 yards) and received all three of his Pro Bowl selections during his Falcons career. He has been enshrined into the Falcons Ring of Honor, so that alone may exclude him from this particular festivity.

Abraham, on the other hand, is an interesting case. He is the franchise’s all-time sack leader and obviously had a very successful run in Atlanta. However, you could argue he achieved more in less time at the start of his career when he was with the New York Jets. Which organization he is associated with the most probably depends on whether you live in Atlanta or New York.

With all due respect to those three players, I thought I’d wind up having a bigger name to celebrate; looks like Atlanta does a much better job of keeping their top flight guys than I gave them credit for.