The Facts: The Falcons restructured the contract of Ryan to allow the team to go shopping more vigorously in free agency.

Diehards Line: According to Field Yates of ESPN.com, the Falcons converted $8.75 million of Ryan’s base salary for 2019 into signing bonus. The move creates an additional $7 million in cap space for this season while deferring $1.75 million a year in cap charges over the remaining four years of the contract. Ryan signed a new five-year extension with the Falcons last May. This fall represents the first year of that new agreement. The move could also help the team get something done with Julio Jones.