Falcons say goodbye to Ra’Shede Hageman

When the Falcons drafted Ra’Shede Hageman in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft, they knew he was going to be a project. He had tremendous upside, but questions about his effort and maturity dogged him his entire time in Atlanta. When it came out that charges of domestic violence had been filed against him in 2017, he was released after the charges were adjudicated.

It was a bit surprising that the team had him back for the 2019 camp, but most observers believed his chance of actually making the team was a long shot at best. Well, after being on the roster for the first two weeks on the reserve/suspended list, the Falcons have decided to part ways with the former draft pick.

Hageman was suspended for the first two games of the 2019 season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. That allowed the Falcons to keep him on the roster without using one of their 53 spots. However, since that suspension is now over, they had to either part ways or kick someone else off the roster to make room for him.

Ra’Shede was a carry-over from the last Mike Smith draft class and he was a controversial player for his entire stint with the Falcons. The constant hope that “this would be the year” never materialized, even though he continually showed promise. Given that he’s 29 and has been unable to latch on anywhere else, it’s hard to imagine he’ll be given another opportunity with the team.

Your thoughts on the Falcons moving on from Hageman?