Tyler Gaffney didn’t play a single NFL snap during his rookie season, but he still has a leg up on any New England Patriots newcomer.
Gaffney missed 2014 with torn lateral meniscus in his knee, but he stuck around Gillette Stadium all season to soak up the Patriots’ way. The running back could make an impact in his second NFL season.
“At Stanford he had 1,600 yards or whatever it was,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told reporters Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting. “He played baseball, he’s a good athlete, he’s got good hands. I don’t think catching’s an issue. He ran for a lot of yards, really had one year of production out there because of baseball. We’ll see.”
Gaffney has only played one season of football in the past three years because he took 2012 off to play baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor-league system. When asked if Gaffney could take on Shane Vereen’s old third-down role, Belichick noted that the running back is heavier than most Patriots receiving backs. Gaffney is an experienced pass-blocker and catcher, however, so he could take on a versatile role.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Belichick said. “We kept him all year — active, then we put him on IR once we got to the 75 cut or whatever it was. We’re excited to work with Tyler.”
Belichick added that effort isn’t an issue for the Stanford product.
“Works hard,” Belichick said. “No question. Works hard, no issue with that.”
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
