FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – The Atlanta Falcons knew they would have an offseason like this. They didn’t necessarily know when, but if they were going to reset their salary cap and construct the roster in general manager Terry Fontenot and coach Arthur Smith’s vision, it was going to come.
It showed up in March, when the team sent quarterback Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts. Doing so added more than $40 million in dead cap money to the team’s ledger -- a total number nearing $63 million.
In eating all that space, it meant the Falcons were going to be, as Fontenot said, “taking it on the chin.