FLOWERY BRANCH – As Brooks Reed hip/groin injury lingers on, the Falcons need help at the strongside linebacker position.
The Falcons prized free agency signee has barely been on the field.
Prince Shembo, who head coach Dan Quinn had plan to move back to outside linebacker, had his case adjudicated in Gwinnett County. In order to get the case over, he accepted a plea to misdemeanor charges and a fine. It was established that the dog bit Shembo.
“Now, that this matter is settled,” agent Adisa Bakari said, “we are excited to see if he can resume his career in the NFL.”
After being released by the Falcons, Shembo cleared waivers. He's a free agent now.
The Falcons had no comment about Shembo’s status. He could still face discipline from the league office under the player conduct policy.
“Teams know that he can play,” Bakari said. “We don’t know what New York (the league office) is going to do. But we want to get his career back on track.”
Shembo played in 16 games and made three starts as a rookie at inside linebacker on the league’s worst defense.
Shembo, a former fourth-round pick, was released on May 29 after he was arrested on animal cruelty charges in the death of his ex-girlfriend’s Yorkie named Dior.
The team felt it was a breach of trust by Shembo, who didn’t report the incident to the team. A month after it happen, the police notified the Falcons. They know he could help the team on the football field, but that breach of trust may be to difficult for the front office to reconcile. Then there's the potential public relations hit.
The Shembo matter went all the way up to a vacationing Arthur Blank and the decision, in light of Michael Vick’s federal dogfighting case, was made to release Shembo.
The Falcons already took one gamble on Shembo,who was investigated but never charged for an alleged sexual assault when he played at Notre Dame, and the woman involved in the case committed suicide 10 days later.
Will they take another?
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