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Joe Hawley: Cut by Falcons, Team Signs Gino Gradkowski

By John Buhler

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Joe Hawley is no longer a member of the Atlanta Falcons, as the front office decided to bring on free agent center Gino Gradkowski, saving $3 Million in cap space.

Joe Hawley’s tenure with the Atlanta Falcons came to an end Monday evening after being released by the team in favor of free agent center Gino Gradkowski, according to ESPN’s Vaughn McClure.

Hawley was coming back from a season-ending ACL tear suffered last year.  Joe was a fan favorite for his tough attitude and his ability to fight in the trenches, earning the starting center job halfway through the 2013 season over the also departed G/C Peter Konz.

-= Related: Atlanta Falcons Trade for G Andy Levitre =-

I really thought that Joe Hawley would be a great fit in new Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s zone blocking scheme due to Hawley being a bit undersized and more agile than most NFL centers.  However, it seems that Head Coach Dan Quinn wants as many of his players to enter 2015 healthy.

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    • The Atlanta Falcons offensive line has had its issues with injuries over the last several seasons.  Atlanta has now released RT Sam Baker, G/C Peter Konz, and C Joe Hawley due to their inability to stay healthy for a full season.  Similar concerns surrounded G Jon Asamoah who is currently on Injured Reserve.

    With Hawley’s departure comes Gino Gradkowski’s arrival.  Gradkowski didn’t make the cut with the Denver Broncos this training camp, but played in 40 games, starting 16 with the Baltimore Ravens the last three seasons.  Gradkowski will likely compete with second-year player James Stone for the starting center gig in what is now a platoon situation.

    Joe Hawley’s exodus is now another example of Thomas Dimitroff’s inability to hit on mid-round draft picks.  You can’t account for injuries, but an NFL GM has to do more than just succeed with his first round picks.  This is growing list of mid-round guys that didn’t pan out with the Atlanta Falcons in the Thomas Dimitroff Era.  Joe Hawley was a 4th Round Selection out of UNLV back in 2010.

    It seems like the Atlanta Falcons under Dan Quinn have prioritized availability over all other abilities this preseason.  Could these new front office tactics of cutting injured players send the wrong message to players both on the team or prospective players looking to join it?  It’s the way she goes.  At least there is consistency with it, so I can learn to understand these type of business decisions for our Atlanta Falcons.

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    The offensive line saga with the 2015 Atlanta Falcons has taken far too many odd turns for my liking thus far and the team has yet to play a regular season game.  It would be a shame if this one unit prevents an otherwise improved club from contending in the NFC South this year.  Let’s hope that the new signings of G Andy Levitre and C Gino Gradkowski can give the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive line some much-needed stability this season.

    Next: Montee Ball: Atlanta Falcons Interested in RB?

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