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Vaughn McClure, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Jonathan Massaquoi also no longer in Falcons' plans

Jonathan Massaquoi was supposed to be a promising young talent with the ability to emerge as a respected pass rusher for the Atlanta Falcons.

As it turns out, Massaquoi will have to develop his talent elsewhere.

Massaquoi was one of four players the Falcons parted ways with when he was waived late Friday. The former 2012 fifth-round pick out of Troy joined running back Steven Jackson, wide receiver Harry Douglas and guard Justin Blalock as players who were released.

Waiving Massaquoi only saved the Falcons $660,000 against the cap, so it wasn't about money. If anything, it was a testament how far Massaquoi fell out of favor with the organization.

Massaquoi has talent. He showed flashes of it last season, particularly in games against the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens.  But he rubbed some folks the wrong way with his carefree approach.

One member of the previous staff said Massaquoi was in the doghouse because he skipped treatments on the right foot he injured during a game against the Detroit Lions in London. Massaquoi was tabbed a "good kid who made some poor decisions and needs some structure."

Massaquoi saw his playing time diminish throughout the 2014 season and was even benched. He spoke out about his lack of snaps to ESPN.com, which didn't rattle the coaches as much as some thought it did. In fact, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said at the time that he admired a player willing to express such confidence in his abilities.

Still, there was a disconnect between the Falcons and Massaquoi, who ended up playing 311 defensive snaps, finishing the season with two sacks and seven quarterback hits.

New coach Dan Quinn retained defensive line coach Bryan Cox, so Cox no doubt relayed his thoughts about Massaquoi. At least one player told ESPN.com he believed Massaquoi had all the talent in the world but needed to tone down his attitude.

We will see if Massaquoi develops his talent with another team.

As for Quinn and the Falcons, they obviously have a plan to fix a non-existent pass rush. It will be interesting to see how that plan unfolds.

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