Carolina Panthers sixth round draft pick Tyler Gaffney is now a member of the New England Patriots after being claimed off waivers on Monday. The Stanford rookie was injured in training camp forcing him to miss the 2014 season, but in a shrewd move the Patriots saw their opportunity to build for the future.
Gaffney was waived by the Panthers following his injury under the assumption he wouldn't be claimed. This would have achieved two goals for the team: Firstly it would have kept a roster spot open they could use to address other areas, secondly it allowed them to keep a player for the future -- but it wasn't to be.
Now Carolina is on the hook for Gaffney's rookie signing bonus, while New England only need to pay his paltry rookie salary, a modest amount given his late-round selection. The glass half full fan will look at the loss as being a non-issue, if they liked him so much they wouldn't have allowed this to happen, but ultimately it's disappointing.
Waiving Gaffney this early was a move that didn't make a lot of sense. Typically injured rookies are kept on the roster until the first or second round of cuts, holding them until a point where other teams have begun installing their offense and are unlikely to release players in the fold to take a flier. With training camps just opening around the league it allows New England plenty of time to work with Gaffney in the classroom, even if he wont see the practice field.
The Panthers sixth round pick is now a wasted one. Offensively the team will lean on DeAngelo Williams, hope Jonathan Stewart will recover and pray Darrin Reaves can show enough to be more than a camp body.