Broncos gambled and lost Barrett to Patriots
Q&A: Broncos gambled and lost Barrett to Patriots
By Jeff Legwold
The Denver Post
POSTED: 08/18/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Former Broncos safety Josh Barrett (Denver Post file photo)
Today's question comes from Scott Sargent. Send your questions via e-mail to jlegwold@denverpost.com.
Q: Did the Broncos really lose safety Josh Barrett to the Patriots and receive nothing in return? How did this happen?
A: Scott, it has been 10 or so days since Barrett was claimed off waivers by the Patriots, who took advantage of the way the rules are written.
And enough folks have asked about this in the wake of the Broncos' preseason opener Sunday that it might be good to review what happened.
The Broncos wanted to put Barrett on injured reserve this month because of a shoulder injury. He suffered two shoulder dislocations at Arizona State and had troubles with them as a pro.
The NFL rule for players who are not yet vested veterans — any player who does not have four accrued seasons — is they have to pass through waivers to be moved to injured reserve, if that move is made before the first roster cut down in training camp.
This year, the first roster cut date is Aug. 31, when rosters must be trimmed from 80 to 75 players. And Barrett is entering his third season, so he is not vested.
The Broncos, with so many injuries at so many places, believed they needed the roster spot to bring in another player who could be on the practice field, so that's why they tried the move at that time.
Players are rarely claimed in this way because most teams don't want another team to take their guys in similar fashion.
But the rule was instituted to keep teams from stashing players, especially young ones, on injured reserve.
So usually the transaction takes place when a player is "waived/injured," and then after a 24-hour claiming period, the player is moved to injured reserve, where the team that waived him maintains his rights. The player then sits out the season.
The same day Barrett was claimed, Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley cleared waivers and was placed on injured reserve.
The Broncos could have moved Barrett directly to injured reserve and not exposed him to waivers — until the first cutdown date of Aug. 31 — but he would have counted against the 80-player roster limit.
That would have meant the Broncos couldn't sign another player at a point when they needed as many healthy players on the field as possible.
During the regular season, players are moved directly to injured reserve without being exposed to waivers. Players can be waived/injured during the regular season, but that means the team has reached a financial settlement with the player before releasing him, because injured players cannot simply be released.
So that's how Barrett ended up with New England without the Broncos getting anything for him in return.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
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