Waiving Gaffney after he tore up his knee at Fan Fest Friday was a calculated risk and one the Panthers did not have to take at this point. But NFL teams so rarely claim players off waivers the Panther thought it was worth it and that they would simply get Gaffney onto their own injured reserve list. New England then stepped in and claimed Gaffney, leaving the Panthers no longer holding rights to their sixth-round draft pick of 2014 and also out the $96,000 signing bonus they gave him.
Panther coach Ron Rivera called New England's claim "disappointing" and "surprising" but said that it wasn't against any unwritten rule. He also echoed Panther general manager Dave Gettleman's defense that Carolina needed the roster spot for a healthy running back. "Wow, that was a tough one," Rivera said when asked about losing Gaffney Tuesday afternoon. "Surprising, you know. We had him slated to have surgery and all that. But new England, I knew they liked him coming out of the draft. So they made a move so we'll go from there. Disappointing. You'd love to be able to keep him."
It's true the Panthers needed the roster spot -- eventually -- but they certainly could have waived any of a number of other guys at other positions and not exposed Gaffney so quickly. I don't ultimately believe Gaffney is going to be anything close to an NFL star, but on this one the Panthers messed up. Gettleman likes to call draft picks "gold" in his pre-draft conversations. A bit of Carolina's gold was stolen Monday.
-- What's interesting about this, too, is that Carolina and New England keep bumping into each other in strange ways. There was Luke Kuechly's "Immaculate Perception" in the end zone against Rob Gronkowski last season -- no pass interference was called on a play that sure looked like PI -- that clinched Carolina's win over the Patriots. And of course there was that Super Bowl.
-- I keep looking down at my roster to see who No.83 is, because he keeps coming up with the ball in the end zone. It's rookie free agent Marcus Lucas, out of Missouri, and he's going to be a factor in the preseason.
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16 comments:
Somebody dropped the ball. Ludicrous to take a chance like that when it was unnecessary. Hope it doesn't come back to bite us in the future.
Stupid bone head drop the ball move. NO laughing all the way to the waiver wire.
You mean there is those superbowls New England won by 3 points each. Those wins should have an asterisk by them because they were cheating all 3 times. They knew the other team's defensive signals and adjusted their offense accordingly. That's not winning, that's league sanctioned cheating. I will never see them as the powerhouse Superbowl winners most people think they are. They haven't won a superbowl without cheating, enough said.
Thank you for the observations regarding the Gaffney transaction. I feel better, as a Panther fan, seeing in print the admission that no one else seems to want to make. Trying to deflect criticism by saying "it's a competitive business" only invites the retort: "Yes. And some people are obviously better at it."
NE at a minimum should be required to reimburse to the Panthers the $96K.
It's no accident. Smart teams like NE that have their act together watch and wait for teams that have weak front offices like the Panthers to make dumb moves. Then they pounce. This is just an example of that happening.
Again, the Panthers are the worst ownership/management organization in all of pro sports. What a complete joke. Just a helpful reminder, but the Panthers have STILL never had back to back winning seasons, in almost 30 years! PATHETIC!!!
Superior team, coach and owner taking care of business while the panthers just get by. By the way, there are no tainted superbowls. Win by any means necessary.
Oh, please! Get over it already! No one is losing sleep over a 6th round pick and 4th string running back on a roster stocked with them! And please don't start with the "Tom Brady was a 6th round pick..." nonsense. How many other "Tom Bradys" have come from 80+ years of 6th round picks? I truly think some "fans" sit back and wait for things to gripe about!
Who is this Anonymous guy anyway. Must be ashamed for people to know who he/she really is.
Not the smartest move on the part of GM Gettleman. The risk was unnecessary this early in training camp. Other sacrifices could and should have been made. I'm pretty sure as saavy as Gettleman is he had no intention of giving away $96,000 and a player with great potential.
D Gettleman knows talent as we'll, that's why Tyler was with the panthers. We will see through NE if Gettelman was right with the pick. Panthers can't play players hurt. They gotta move on!
If this is the worst of G-man's moves then we are going to be AWESOME!!! Says a lot when the mighty Patriots recognize that G-man is a top flight talent evaluator. He has already made up for this little misstep with the additions of White and Lester last year. Even UDFA RB Reaves may have beaten out a healthy Gaffney. GO PANTHERS!!!
Again, the Panthers are the worst ownership/management organization in all of pro sports. What a complete joke. Just a helpful reminder, but the Panthers have STILL never had back to back winning seasons, in almost 30 years! PATHETIC!!!
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Clearly you don't know much about the Panthers bud. They're beginning their 20th season this year, so you're only 10 years off. And yes, please tell me how pathetic the front office is.. going 12-4, winning the division with a pieced together secondary last year.. they must not be doing something right. Take a break from your Haterade and go watch your cowboys tank again this year, cause I can only assume you have an assigned seat on the bandwagon of losers.
Since you asked..........
Another HOF 6th round pick within the last 80 years, two time Superbowl Champion Terrell Davis
Really does show Gettleman's limitations to get snookered like that, I'm not yet impressed with him, we'll know after the season but it's already trending down.
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