FOXBORO -- The Patriots placed sixth-round pick AJ Derby on injured reserve Wednesday after he cleared waivers.
Derby was waived/injured by the team on Tuesday, meaning that if he cleared waivers he would revert to New England's injured reserve list.
The former Arkansas tight end appeared at Patriots training camp on Thursday last week but was not spotted at any of the four subsequent practices. His release subtracts one player from New England's tight end group, which now includes Rob Gronkowski, Scott Chandler, Michael Hoomanawanui, Jake Bequette and undrafted rookie Jimmay Mundine.
There was no guarantee Derby would have cleared waivers. The Patriots added running back Tyler Gaffney, taken in the sixth round of the 2014 draft, after he was waived/injured by the Panthers during training camp last season. Gaffney spent the year on New England's injured reserve list.
After being selected, Derby explained that he had his mind set on playing quarterback in college. He transferred from Iowa after being asked to change positions. But once he opened himself up to the idea of playing elsewhere on the field, he showed the ability to be a more-than-capable receiving tight end at Arkansas. He also gained experience on special teams, playing on kickoff, kickoff return and punt units in college.
"It was kind of a long road," Derby said after being drafted. "I was pretty stubborn about playing quarterback in my early time in college. That’s the reason I ended up leaving Iowa to go to [junior college], then to Arkansas, but I ended up meeting with [Arkansas] coach [Bret Bielema] and it worked out great to be a tight end. Just really looking forward to joining the Patriots organization and doing whatever I can to help the team win."
Derby explained that he believed his background as a quarterback gave him a unique perspective and could have helped him to continue making progress as he learned a relatively new position.
