On December 15, the New England Patriots made a couple of transactions related to their running backs. The team placed starter LeGarrette Blount on season-ending injured reserve while also signing former 2013 second round draft pick Montee Ball.
The former Denver Bronco did not replace Blount on the Patriots' 53-man roster, however. Instead, he was signed to the team's practice squad, where he spent the remainder of the 2015 season. After New England's season and consequently Ball's contract ended, the team opted to not sign the running back to a future/reserve contract - at least according to the NFL's transaction wire.
It turns out that the team indeed re-signed Ball on February 1 (according to Mike Reiss), the move was just never announced - until today, when, the Patriots officially waived the running back (via Christopher Price):
Per the official NFL transaction wire, the #Patriots have waived RB Montee Ball.
The move per se does not come a surprise given that Ball was arrested on a battery charge last week. What is a surprise, though, is that the Patriots re-signed the 25-year old without anyone noticing.
Wait for this to somehow become a major scandal because: Patriots.