Report: Patriots looked into trade for Case Keenum

[SlowGettingUp]

They've made changes to this every year.

It's getting so it's even confusing for a fanatical fan.

It was changed during the first Covid season and has remained the same since. Protection is purely to allow for game-planning and knowing that you can rely on a player being there in the short-term. As far as I know, the Pats have never actually protected a player, so it's largely hypothetical.