Atlanta Falcons' Website Recaps This Morning's Episode of Undisputed
By Kyle Koster
Julio Jones joined FS1's Undisputed via phone this morning and offered some unfiltered thoughts on his future, which sure seems as though won't be with the Atlanta Falcons. It was quite a moment, followed by a few hours now of speculation about just what the heck happened there as well as an increase in "California two-party consent" search traffic. Jones' current team is carefully monitoring the situation and using it as a springboard to its own pageviews.
A team-operated site recapping the shiny object of the day on sports-talk television feels like newish ground. It also feels like this corner is getting a bit crowded. Hope the Falcons know what they're in for. Sure, it may seem fun to react to a Skip Bayless or Nick Wright take one day, but try doing it every day for a decade. You'll be left to reconsider all the choices that lead you to here and why, in God's name, you never veered off this path.
From the piece:
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot addressed the reports regarding teams calling about Jones ahead of the draft. Atlanta is in a tight cap situation and as a result, some tough decisions will have to be made, according to Fontenot.
"We hold that player in high regard," Fontenot said. "Pointing to the cap, pointing to the fact that we will answer calls on any players. When teams ask about players, we have to answer those calls. We have to listen because we knew when we stepped into this, we were going to have to make some tough decisions because it's just the reality of it, that's where we are with the salary cap. So we have to make some difficult decisions, so we have to look at all of the different options and all of the different scenarios so if someone calls about any player, we have to discuss it and do what's right for the team."
Atlanta reportedly restructured the contracts of Matt Ryan, Jake Matthews and Deion Jones to get under the cap prior to the start of free agency. Jones' contract wasn't one the team restructured.
Ah, yes. Expertly done. That's how you take an existing story and move it forward with your own angle. Perhaps the Falcons will be a major player in this space. That last line about all the players who did have their contracts restructured is devastatingly effective. Respect.