At some point, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank knew this day would come.
He alluded to it during Super Bowl week when he talked about an eventual succession plan for quarterback Matt Ryan. Back then, though, he couldn’t have known the end would come as soon as it did.
But less than two months later, Blank is into the post-Ryan era -- one he sounded at least prepared for -- after trading the face of the franchise to the Indianapolis Colts. Between Ryan’s age (37 in May) and the 2022 cap hit of more than $48 million after an already-big contract had been restructured the three previous years, it was time to move on.