Veteran offensive lineman Reggie Wells joined the Chargers two weeks ago. And he’s now been released twice by the team.
For the second straight weekend, the Chargers released Wells to make room for a practice-squad player.
And, once again, they’ve elevated cornerback Greg Gaston.
Come Tuesday, look for the Chargers to waive Gaston, re-sign Wells, and re-sign Gaston to the practice squad.
It’s a common device for increasing the practical size of a team’s roster from 53 to 54. Wells, via a wink-nod with the front office, knows he wouldn’t have been on the active roster. So he gets his paycheck for the week, steps aside for a couple of days, comes back next week, and does it all over again.
Since Wells is a vested veteran with four or more years of service, he doesn’t have to pass through waivers. So no other team can pilfer him.
That changes after the trade deadline, after which time all players hit the waiver wire when released.
Of course, the roster merry-go-round could be disrupted if someone makes a waivers claim for Gaston the next time he’s released in order to make room for Reggie Wells to return.