Atlanta Falcons: Ra’Shede Hageman saga has finally ended
By Derek Snyder
It was announced on Monday afternoon that the Atlanta Falcons finally parted ways with defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman.
Under former head coach Mike Smith, the Atlanta Falcons had high hopes for defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman — so much so, that the team used their second-round pick on him back in 2014. Needless to say, the former Minnesota Golden Gophers football player never lived up to the hefty expectations set out before him in Atlanta.
While he had hi struggles on the field for current head coach Dan Quinn, it was his supposed off-the-field struggles that ultimately decided his fate with the Dirty Birds. After he was initially placed in the Commissioner’s Exempt List earlier this weekend, the Falcons decided to finally cut ties with Hageman just a few days later.
Take a look at the report from Vaughn McClure, Atlanta’s beat-writer from ESPN:
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"The Atlanta Falcons obviously weren’t willing to wait for an NFL ruling on defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman following last year’s arrest on domestic violence-related charges.The team cut ties with the former second-round draft pick Monday with the league’s investigation into the matter still pending. Owner Arthur Blank has a low tolerance for such off-the-field issues, which no doubt weighed heavily in the organization’s final decision."
While this announcement is definitely going to get some reaction from fans and media around the league, I don’t believe it’s a decision the Falcons won’t overcome. Yes, the team had high hopes for Hageman, but he never produced at a level which we all expected.
Hageman finished his career with the Falcons recording four sacks, 40 tackles and three passes defended. Not to mention, he only played three years with the Dirty Birds — those aren’t very impressive numbers whatsoever.
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As McClure mentioned in his article, the additions of Grady Jarrett, Dontari Poe and Jack Crawford gave the Falcons plenty of confidence moving forward without Hageman. This is a defense full of competitors that want to go at it the right way, which meant there wasn’t any more room for their former second-round pick.
At the end of the day, Atlanta’s defensive-line will be just fine.