Six years later, the photo remains one of Ricardo Allen’s favorites. Standing in a Dick’s Sporting Goods, the Atlanta Falcons defensive back is smiling ear to ear, having just been promoted to the active roster after spending most of his rookie season on the practice squad. Matt Ryan, the team’s star quarterback, is walking into the frame to shake his hand.
“Now it’s time to be making some of those big checks,” Allen remembers Ryan saying, referring to the sixfold bump in pay he would receive. “And with them comes a greater level of responsibility.”
Allen, 28, cherishes the picture because it captured the elation he felt after overcoming being cut in training camp — a scene captured on the HBO reality show, “Hard Knocks” — and his unlikely relationship with Ryan, 35, that has now guided both men through this tumultuous year that has rocked them both, personally and professionally.