Bill Belichick has never been afraid to ruffle feathers when it comes to improving his team, but the Patriots coach is always far-sighted with his roster management.
Enter Tyler Gaffney.
The running back out of Stanford was Carolina’s sixth-round draft pick in 2014. During his first training camp last July, Gaffney tore his meniscus and was sidelined indefinitely.
If the Panthers had placed him on injured reserve immediately, it would have cost them a spot on their 90-man roster. Instead, they elected to try and sneak him through waivers with an injury designation.
Perhaps owing to the league’s unwritten rules on waived players with injuries, the first 28 teams in the wire-claim order passed.