Atlanta Falcons DL Ra’Shede Hageman suffers wrist injury

UPDATE #2: Mike Smith has announced that Hageman does NOT have a fracture in his wrist, and he will practice.

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Update: Pro Football Talk is now reporting that Hageman has no broken bones. Stay tuned for an official release from the team at some point.

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On a day marred by a potentially serious injury to offensive tackle Terren Jones, the Atlanta Falcons are also dealing with the fall-out of a scuffle that has reportedly netted 2014 second-round pick Ra’Shede Hageman with a hairline fracture in his wrist. Vaughn McClure of ESPN brings the latest:

"Also during practice, rookie defensive lineman Ra’Shede Hageman exited the field and did not return with what is believed to be a hairline fracture in his wrist, according to a league source. Hageman threw a punch at center Joe Hawley during pass rush drills and received medical attention immediately after the scuffle."

"“I think we’re all talking about competing and fighting for jobs, but we’re not talking about fighting each other,” Mike 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. That’s something that happens when it gets hot. Today, it was hot, or hotter than what we’ve been used to practicing. But we’ve got to definitely get that fixed.”"

In addition to the news about a potential hairline fracture and the comments from Mike Smith, McClure noted that it could be a four-week timetable to recovery for Hageman, but it is also potentially an injury that could be played with if bandaged appropriately.

Frankly, it is almost positive to see some extra “juice” in the preseason, but at the same time, it isn’t good to see a project-type player like Hageman miss any period of time in his development. It will be interesting to see how the coaching and training staffs handle the injury, but for now, it is possible that Atlanta’s second-round pick could be on the shelf for a while.