The Facts: The Giants put Ballard on waivers after he failed a physical due to the knee injury he suffered in the Super Bowl against the Patriots, but before he passed through all 31 other teams to be moved to I.R., he was surprisingly claimed by those same Patriots.

Diehards Line:The move even caught Ballard by surprise, but it doesn't change his outlook for 2012 as he was destined not to play this season. Looking forward, it does change things significantly in 2013 for him and the Giants. First, Ballard now falls behind Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, so his future with the Patriots in 2013 would seem to cap out as the third tight end who mostly blocks. As for the Giants, they have Martellus Bennett signed to a one-year contract, Travis Beckum who is rehabbing from an ACL injury suffered in the Super Bowl himself, and the raw but athletically gifted rookie Adrien Robinson. At this time, none of them are the obvious choice to start at tight end in 2013.