The New England Patriots took a closer look at a free agent defensive tackle who was out of football in 2017.
The Patriots worked out Ra’Shede Hageman on Wednesday, the league announced on its transaction wire, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. Hageman was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Minnesota.
Hageman was released by the Falcons last September after he was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List following charges based on a domestic violence incident. He was suspended six games for the incident and wasn’t re-signed by another team last season.
Hageman has 62 career tackles and four sacks in three seasons. He’s played in 44 games with 16 starts. The 27-year-old has prototypical size for a two-gapping defensive lineman at 6-foot-6, 318 pounds.
The Patriots currently have Malcom Brown, Danny Shelton, Lawrence Guy, Adam Butler, Vincent Valentine, John Atkins and Frank Herron on their interior defensive line depth chart.
Patriots president Jonathan Kraft said in 2016 the team has no gray area regarding domestic violence, citing the time they relinquished the rights to Christian Peter following the 1996 NFL Draft at the urging of his late mother, Myra.
The Patriots signed James Harrison last winter despite a 2008 domestic violence incident that the outside linebacker admitted to at the time, when he slapped his girlfriend. The charges ultimately were dropped when he entered counseling.
The Patriots also have shown interest in quarterback Johnny Manziel this offseason. Manziel was charged with domestic violence in 2016 but reached a plea deal after he agreed to undergo counseling.
