A disagreement between rookie defensive end Ra’Shede Hageman and center Joe Hawley resulted in shoving and growling, and, when it was over, Hageman walked away with an injured wrist on Sunday at the Falcons’ training camp practice. Hegaman told people close to him that the injury was a hairline fracture but that he would practice Monday with a cast. The Falcons later Sunday night said it was not a fracture.
Hageman, a second-round draft pick being counted on to give the Falcons more toughness on the defensive line, did not return to practice. He told others that it was a hairline wrist fracture and that he will have a cast put on the wrist and that he plans to work on Monday.
When the two went at it, they drew the support of their respective linemen but not of coach Mike Smith.
“Why y’all be fighting everyday?” Roddy White yelled from across the field while the receivers ran drills with the defensive backs.
“I think we’re all talking about competing and fighting for jobs but we’re not talking about fighting each other,” Smith said. “We’ve got to understand that. It’s not what we’re about. We’re about competing and going out and trying to win a job, but we’re not about fighting one another and that’s something that happens when it gets hot. Today it was hot — hotter than what we’ve been used to practicing (in).”
Be it the heat or the pressure, scuffles have not been hard to come by. Smith said he wants his players to play competitively, but consequences such as injury should be kept in mind.
“I think we’re doing the physical and I think we’re doing the passionate, but I don’t know that we’re always working as smart as we can,” Smith said.
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