It's now been over 24 hours since the vaunted Jerry Reese administration suffered an uncharacteristic blunder when the plan to temporarily part with Jake Ballard reared an ugly head.
On Monday, the New York Giants placed the injured TE on waivers, intending to reclaim him the following day (Tuesday) at 4 PM EDT when he would have presumably reached the deadline without any offers. Players lacking more than four years of experience in the NFL cannot be placed on IR until the regular season unless their rights are left temporarily exposed via waivers.
New England, the last team that could have made a move for Ballard before the Giants retained him, decided to pounce. Their surprising move (given their celebrated two-headed monster at TE) forced Ballard to leave this morning for Foxboro.
New York had expected a shakeup at the TE position long before last year's starter and break out star was claimed by their Super Bowl opponents.
Ballard's torn ACL was expected to keep him out until the final weeks of 2012 if not longer. The Giants had already made arrangements to enter this current season with Jason Witten's former backup, Martellus Bennett. Bear Pascoe and 4th round draft choice Adrien Robinson are also in place.
Travis Beckum, who also tore his ACL in the Super Bowl, may be an added bonus and is reportedly far ahead of schedule. He could be ready for Week 1. Christian Hopkins, Ryan Purvis and Larry Donnell will also get reps in training camp.
For the immediate future, New England is also more than fortified at the TE position. In 2011, the Patriots launched the league's latest offensive fad and began utilizing two TE sets regularly in passing situations.
Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski are still in New England's long term plans, which may make Ballard's role on the squad a bit perplexing. Though originally thought to be purely a blocker. Ballard demonstrated during his one active season that he is (though a bit raw) a complete TE. Likely headed to IR for the entirety of 2012, Ballard will likely act as leverage for the Patriots should either Hernandez or Gronkowski have contract issues after the coming season.
It is worth noting, that while Ballard failed his Giants physical and would essentially be returning in 2013 without any proof that he can return to his old form, New England's decision to dedicate a 90-man roster spot to him at this stage in his rehab will give him some immediate credibility.
Also, with this year's new IR rules, Ballard could potentially return in late 2012 if there is a need at the position due to injury.