Patriots Steal Jake Ballard from Giants

[RI Pats Fan]

Patriots claim injured tight end Ballard from Giants


The Giants figured waiving injured tight end Jake Ballard was little more than a procedural move, that once Ballard cleared waivers he would automatically move onto their Physically Unable to Perform/reserve list, spend the 2012 season rehabbing from his serious knee injury and make a return in 2013.
Ballard was waived on Monday and when he walked into the Giants field house Tuesday after 4 p.m. it seemed as if all went according to plan, that Ballard 24 hours later had cleared waivers and was back with the Giants. But it turns out Ballard came by to say goodbye. Surprisingly, the Patriots and their sly coach Bill Belichick decided to claim Ballard, who now goes from the team that won Super Bowl XLVI to the team the Giants beat in the Super Bowl last Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.
Ballard’s agent, Blake Baratz, on his Twitter account wrote “As I stated yesterday, a “smart’’ football organization might claim [Ballard] while he’s hurt to own his rights. He’s now a Patriot!’’
Ballard suffered extensive ligament and cartilage knee damage in the third quarter of the Super Bowl, injuries that prompted reconstructive and also microfracture surgery to repair. There are no guarantees he will be able to resume his career and he had no chance of returning this season. The Patriots, already loaded at tight end with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, are banking on Ballard making a return – unless Belichick just wants to stick it to the Giants. The Patriots will pay Ballard $540,000 this season not to play but to rehabilitate his knee. Ballard will be an exclusive rights free agent for the Patriots after this season.
Asked about Ballard in the morning – when the Giants believed he would own his rights – Giants coach Tom Coughlin said the injury to Ballard’s knee “Wasn’t any worse than what was expected – what he had was upfront from the time the surgery was done.’’
The Giants knew the severity of the surgeries and apparently did not think any team was willing to claim Ballard with such a difficult recovery ahead of him.


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/giants...#ixzz1xdBz2gnE


A great forward thinking move by the Patriots!!!!

[RI Pats Fan]

Giant fan reactions:

And there it is JonC : 4:55 pm

Get well, Jake.

and boom goes the dynamite GMenLTS : 4:56 pm

.

F**k jcn56 : 4:56 pm

Well, best of luck to Ballard.

And to the Pats, hope to see you again in February!

Is he a RFA? Tyrion : 4:56 pm

There could still be a minuscule chance he doesn't sign with them after the season.

Lmao bxgiants4 : 4:56 pm

.

damn Sneakers O'toole : 4:56 pm

that sucks.

Not surprising JonC : 4:56 pm

Bill is cagey and Jake tore up his Pats last season.

After next season I mean Tyrion : 4:56 pm

...

Well that f****** sucks Kyle in NY : 4:56 pm

Was there any way to avoid exposing him?

Another OSU icon out the door. Stu : 4:56 pm

Good luck, Jake!

BB is one sly mother****a GMenLTS : 4:56 pm

Pretty soon he'll unveil the Pats 4 TE offense.

that Peter from CT : 4:57 pm

sucks

why would they do that with the TE's that they have? Just to screw with the Giants?

Makes no sense.

That's crazy Antdog23 : 4:57 pm

Nice knowing ya Jake...

Because they need another TE. BLUATHRT : 4:57 pm

.

It's not Josh in the City : 4:57 pm

like the Pats need another TE (especially off ACL surgery)...this was a move to stick it to the Giants IMO.

Thanks for everything, Jake. Dave in Hoboken : 4:57 pm

Good luck.

Obviously, the Giants knew this was at least a possibility, or they wouldn't have placed him on waivers in the first place.

Well that blows. Adam XLII : 4:57 pm

.

Well, that sucks. arcarsenal : 4:57 pm

He's obviously nowhere near playing, though.

LOL, so he was there to say goodbye to his teammates pjcas18 : 4:57 pm

not sure how owning his rights helps the Pats. He's not likely to sign a big FA deal after the season, so no comp picks are likely, and he isn't likely to play this year.

Most this does is allow the Pats to pay his salary.

How does this help them and why would Giants fans be upset about this?

Shame. Riggies : 4:57 pm

Not the end of the world though.

Little Bill redbeard : 4:57 pm

is one tricky motherf'er

I was worried that this would happen Sneakers O'toole : 4:58 pm

Ballard made a name for himself last year.

Dubsies Exit 172 : 4:58 pm

was all over it.

Question manh george : 4:58 pm

In some sports, if a player is claimed on waivers, he has to be kept on the opening-day roster. What is the rule in the NFL? Can he go on the Pat's PUP list?

yeah MookGiants : 4:58 pm

this will really stick it to the Giants.

When he's getting paid by the Pats next year and then they cut him next off-season the giants can re-sign him.

Not a big deal. But don't worry, I'm sure many will hammer Reese for this

WAKE UP, Exit 172 : 4:59 pm

REESE!!!

Aw Jake! SwirlingEddie : 4:59 pm

Even with the Patriots, I wish you the best. You gave us all you had and more.

It's more about taking one potential weapon away from us JonC : 4:59 pm

a weapon that ripped up NE last season, moreso than how he might help NE eventually, imo.

Well one reason for Giants fans to be upset Antdog23 : 4:59 pm

he was a good TE and he was the reason we won a lot of games last year, especially the Pats game.

http://corner.bigblueinteractive.com...&thread_page=1

[bmooney54]

I read in another article that BB did it to "stick it to" the Giants. I highly doubt this as he has tremendous respect for Mara, Coughlin and the Giants. I see this as a continuation of the multi-TE offense that is devoloping in Foxboro and leverage for AHern in next year's contract negotiations.

[BostonTim]

Originally Posted by bmooney54

I read in another article that BB did it to "stick it to" the Giants. I highly doubt this as he has tremendous respect for Mara, Coughlin and the Giants. I see this as a continuation of the multi-TE offense that is devoloping in Foxboro and leverage for AHern in next year's contract negotiations.

This^. For 1/2 a mil. Bill gets to stash a fairly highly regarded player and then control him in 2013, his RFA year. Leverage re Ahern, trade bait, 4 TE sets. Bill has no idea and plenty of ideas. For now, its a nice little asset for the portfolio.

Cheers, BostonTim

[bmooney54]

Originally Posted by BostonTim

This^. For 1/2 a mil. Bill gets to stash a fairly highly regarded player and then control him in 2013, his RFA year. Leverage re Ahern, trade bait, 4 TE sets. Bill has no idea and plenty of ideas. For now, its a nice little asset for the portfolio.

Cheers, BostonTim

All true. I'm sure he was on BB's radar, especially since he killed the Pats (Welker redux?) Like the dude he snagged from the Broncos, he was brought in for a reason.

[RI Pats Fan]

I think, because he more than likely will not play this year, he will be an Exclusive Rights Free Agent in 2013 which will only make him that much more valuable.


"The Giants were planning to place TE Jake Ballard (knee surgery) on the PUP list before he was claimed off waivers by the Patriots.

That's almost certainly where he'll end up in New England before presumably landing on injured reserve. Per Profootballtalk.com, the Patriots were the only team to place a claim on the 24-year-old tight end. If Ballard doesn't take the field in 2012, he'll be an exclusive rights free agent next offseason after catching 38 passes for 604 yards and four touchdowns in 2011."


http://www.rotoworld.com/sports/nfl/football

[RI Pats Fan]

"So why would the Patriots claim him? That's unclear, though presumably they'll stash him on their Physically Unable to Perform list and later Injured Reserve at some point and retain his rights for 2013. Ballard will be an exclusive rights free agent after the season, meaning he won't even have the ability to field offers from other teams. If the Patriots want him back, he'll have no choice but to stay."


http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/gia...by-new-england

[Pneumonic]

Is it not so that the new IR rules allows each team to return 1 IR'd player later on in the season? Perhaps this is an option for BB in the case of Ballard ...... provided he's healthy enough to return later on in the season as the Pats head into the playoffs, ramping up for a super bowl run.

[grog]

Question: Why didn't the Giants just put him on the PUP list? If he had cleared Waivers first, would that have freed up a roster spot? I guess I just don't understand the Waiver move, or is that required before putting a player on PUP. I didn't think so.

[Oswlek]

Originally Posted by grog

Question: Why didn't the Giants just put him on the PUP list? If he had cleared Waivers first, would that have freed up a roster spot? I guess I just don't understand the Waiver move, or is that required before putting a player on PUP. I didn't think so.

At this point, all players must be waived to move them to a status that removes them from the roster. NY could have placed him on an active/PUP status without risking him, but that wouldn't have freed up a spot.

The real question is, why did they need a 90th spot that badly, and why couldn't they have just waived a camp body for a couple weeks?

[Oswlek]

Originally Posted by Pneumonic

Is it not so that the new IR rules allows each team to return 1 IR'd player later on in the season? Perhaps this is an option for BB in the case of Ballard ...... provided he's healthy enough to return later on in the season as the Pats head into the playoffs, ramping up for a super bowl run.

Perhaps, but NE will probably just place him on reserve/PUP after cutdowns and avoid IR altogether for a couple months.

[BostonTim]

Originally Posted by Oswlek

Perhaps, but NE will probably just place him on reserve/PUP after cutdowns and avoid IR altogether for a couple months.

He's gonna have lot's of time to get into the playbook.

Cheers, BostonTim

[Alk]

Thought I recognized the name...

[Pneumonic]

Originally Posted by Oswlek

Perhaps, but NE will probably just place him on reserve/PUP after cutdowns and avoid IR altogether for a couple months.

Any idea if one procedure offers benefits over the other?

[Oswlek]

Originally Posted by Pneumonic

Any idea if one procedure offers benefits over the other?

PUP is better because you are given the ability to activate the player at any time from week 6-12. The only downside with PUP is the player must come to camp injured.

IR only allows one activation per year, so going the PUP route gives you the chance to activate both Ballard and someone else.