The New England Patriots decided to part ways with their star tight end Aaron Hernandez after he was arrested for connection with the murder of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd and now that he has been placed on waivers, another team can theoretically try to claim him.
According to Pro Football Talk, teams in the league can claim Hernandez now that he is on waivers and his immediate financial hit is a manageable one at $1.323 million, which was his salary for the 2013 season. Any team that claims him would bring on a media storm afterwards and with training camp and the season not too far away, any team would also run the risk of losing him to a suspension from the NFL at some point.
The league could fine or suspend Hernandez depending on what happens and sources said that things were expected to get worse for Hernandez regarding the case way before they get better. The team would be taking a risk in the fact that he might not play again, but if he ends up being cleared a team could bring him in on the cheap with his 2013 and 2014 base salaries. No team will likely claim Hernandez yet, but it's always fun to speculate about where he could go and the Patriots likely will try to lower their cap hit from him by attacking signing bonus money, says the report.
One team that could be interesting for Hernandez is the Raiders, as they have that bad boy attitude, but they also have a need at the position, as they lost Brandon Myers in free agency and have a rookie in Nick Kasa coming in to try and start. The team has a new quarterback in Matt Flynn and after Myers led the team in receptions last season they could try and make over the position in the hopes that Hernandez will play.
Other NFL teams will likely stay away due to the risk and the Raiders are probably going to do the same, but after losing a solid option in Myers, the Bay Area could be a spot. The NFL is about winning and competing and as long as Hernandez can technically still play in the NFL, someone will be willing to pick him up and bring him in. The charges are still unclear and the reason he may be facing obstruction has to do with him destroying his cell phone and home security system. The body of Odin Lloyd was found a mile from the home and he reportedly was seen with Hernandez on the night of the murder.
