When the Broncos in a span of one week released quarterback Russell Wilson and safety Justin Simmons and traded wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, former Atlanta Falcons star receiver Roddy White took notice.

Then he took to social media.

White this week posted on X, formerly Twitter, a number of comments critical of Denver coach Sean Payton. He wrote on his @roddywhiteTV account that Payton’s “time has passed him by” and that quarterback Drew Brees “carried that man” when Payton had previously coached the New Orleans Saints, including winning a Super Bowl. That post on Wednesday by midday Friday had been viewed more than 560,000 times with more than 5,000 likes and about 1,000 retweets.

White also wrote that Payton, who in 2023 was in his first year as Denver’s coach, didn’t utilize Wilson and Jeudy correctly.

In a 20-minute phone interview with The Denver Gazette, White was asked why he took to social media the way he did.

“I was upset with the talent they had on that team and putting guys in position to make plays on that team,’’ White said. “And (Payton) depleted the roster. He gave away all the good players. I don’t know how you win without good players in this league.”

White played for the Falcons from 2005-15, having 808 catches for 10,863 yards. He made four Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro in 2010, when he caught an NFL-high 115 passes for 1,389 yards.

White has made at least a half-dozen social media posts critical of the Broncos. At one point, longtime NFL analyst and former Denver star guard Mark Schlereth responded on X to one of the posts, writing, “Get out of here with that garbage.”

White then went after Schlereth on X. He claimed Schlereth, a Fox game analyst, had gone on “live TV” to “lie to the world to protect someone (Payton)” who will “be fired in three years.” And he claimed Schlereth hasn’t been “watching film.”

Speaking to The Denver Gazette, Schlereth called White’s posts “so stupid.”

“He’s talking out of his (butt),” Schlereth said. “Calling me a liar on Twitter is an issue and that’s incorrect, and nobody puts in more work in this than I do.”

White’s postings were filled with grammatical errors and misspellings.

“I’m just typing fast, just getting it out,’’ he said. “I’ll be more careful next time.”

White, 42, said his posts were made for “just football” reasons and he has no personal grudge against Payton, 60. He claimed they weren’t made because of the Falcons and Saints being bitter rivals, including when White and Payton were on opposing sidelines over nine seasons.

White, who is now the wide receivers coach at Peachtree Ridge High School in the Atlanta suburb of Suwanee, Ga., said the reaction to his tweets has been varied. He said, “a lot of people agree” but others have said to “mind your own business and worry about the Falcons.”

White said he stands by what he wrote, and he offered more about Payton, who had Brees, a future Hall of Famer, during 14 of his 15 seasons with New Orleans. Payton coached the Saints from 2006-11 and 2013-21, which included winning a Super Bowl in the 2009 season.

“I just think the game has passed (Payton) by and he’s so far removed,’’ White said. “To me, it’s like Sean Payton is calling plays and he still wants to do his thing the same way with the 2010, 2009 and 2008 Saints when they were really good with Drew Brees. I haven’t seen him do anything since Drew Brees left that makes him a good coach.”

In Payton’s only Saints season without Brees, they went 9-8 in 2021. Then after Payton took a year off in 2022 to serve as a Fox studio analyst, he went 8-9 in his first Denver season.

The Broncos on Wednesday officially released Wilson after two seasons and he signed on Friday a $1.21 million contract with Pittsburgh, with Denver also paying him $37.79 million in 2023. Wilson, who made nine Pro Bowls in 10 seasons and won a Super Bowl with Seattle, was traded to Denver in March 2022 and had a disastrous first season under coach Nathaniel Hackett.

Wilson, 35, was much better statistically in 2023, throwing 26 touchdown passes with just eight interceptions under Payton. But White believes Wilson, who was let go before a $37 million salary for 2025 would become guaranteed Sunday, was not utilized properly by Payton.

“I don’t think he gave Russ a fair chance,’’ said White, who said he never has met the quarterback, although his Falcons did play twice during his career against Wilson’s Seahawks. “I think he sabotaged Russell Wilson from the start. … He’s running the same offense that he did with Drew Brees, and these are two totally different players. Russ is more of an off-schedule guy and gets the balls outside the numbers. Drew is a guy that completes a lot of plays across the field.”

White also claimed that Payton didn’t utilize Jeudy correctly. After catching 67 passes for 972 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games in 2022, Jeudy had 54 receptions for 758 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games in 2023. He was traded earlier this week to Cleveland for fifth- and sixth-round picks.

“He’s a guy that should be outside the numbers running deep posts, go routes, and he’s having him run stuff (across the middle) like it’s Julian Edelman and Wes Welker-type routes,’’ said White, referring to two former NFL receivers.

Schlereth said White mischaracterized what he said about both players. He said Wilson isn’t the same player he once was in Seattle due to his decreased ability to avoid pressure and that Jeudy, who was Denver’s X receiver, was used in a variety of manners that had been expected and is simply “not a good football player.”

Schlereth, 58, played in the NFL from 1989-94 with Washington and from 1995-2000 with Denver. He was named to two Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl with Washington and two with the Broncos.

“That guy doesn’t know football,’’ White said. “He needs to just stick to offensive line and defensive line play and just talk about those guys. From a skill-position standpoint, he has no idea what he’s watching.”

Schlereth offered a retort to White, who played in five career playoff games and didn’t get to a Super Bowl.

“I’ve studied the entirety of the game,’’ he said. “My resume speaks for itself. I’m not trying to pick a fight, but for him to sit there and say I don’t know skill positions; he doesn’t know championships. I know championships. He barely played in the playoffs. He can kiss my (butt).”

Schlereth was most displeased about White on X, calling him a liar and criticizing his work ethic. Schlereth, who didn’t call any Denver games for Fox in 2023, said to “intimate I’m carrying the water for Sean is absolute garbage.”

Schlereth said he considers himself very well informed about the NFL. He said he regularly talks to numerous coaches and players for additional insight.

White didn’t enter the NFL until five years after Schlereth retired. He played in 18 career games against Payton’s Saints, with New Orleans winning a whopping 14 of them. In those games, White had 75 catches for 1,084 yards.

“I killed them all the time,’’ White said. “They had no answer for me.”

White did have four 100-yard games against Payton’s Saints. But he also had six games with two or fewer catches.

“I spoke to him pre-game,’’ White said of his dealings with Payton when the Falcons played the Saints. “During games, he would be talking trash back and forth to me on the sideline when I was going against his defense, but that was about it.”

White said what Payton said to him “never crossed the line” and that “it was two rivals going back and forth.”

“He would just be jawing back and forth with me,’’ White said. “One time, I told him, ‘Just put your pads on and come out here if it ain’t that hard.’ He just turned around and laughed.”

White said he hasn’t had any interaction with Payton since his playing days. And he questioned how long he will be coaching the Broncos.

“He won a Super Bowl and that’s what he’s hanging his hat on,’’ White said. “One good thing I can say about him is he was a good offensive mind and had some top-five offenses (with 12 in New Orleans). But I don’t think his offense has a lot going on now. … I believe Sean will be gone in two or three years. They have a lot invested in him and they’re going to see it through for two or three years, but then I think he’ll be gone.”

Well, White did have at least one more good thing to say about Payton.

“When he was a commentator (for Fox), he did a great job of that,’’ White said.