I don't know Robert James, and I certainly don't wish to hurt his feelings. Still, he's become the poster child for those of us who didn't like the direction the Falcons took in the later rounds of the draft. If I were a lesser man, I might even call it a wasted pick.
SportingNews is reporting that the team has waived James in a similar fashion as last year's late-round center, Doug Datish. In that case, Datish's injuries forced the team to shut him down for the year while they retained the rights to him. Datish was cut this year, and James will be the longest of longshots to make the roster next year.
The selection of James was, in my mind, the least defensible in the draft with other needs still on the board. You don't typically expect great things out of a guy you get past the fourth round, but the mere fact that the team was still stockpiling at one of their strongest positions made no sense to me. Even after this, the Falcons still have new signing and former safety Coy Wire running behind Brooking.
I wish James all the best on his road to recovery, but I still don't understand the logic behind his selection in the first place.