Patriots waived TE Visanthe Shiancoe. The Pats valued Shiancoe enough to stash him on injured reserve's designated for return list early this season, but not enough to keep him around for the stretch run. Rookie speedster Jeff Demps may have been a better use of the designation. Shiancoe has played just 59 snaps all season. Rob Gronkowski was given a 4-8 week timetable to return after undergoing surgery. It's been nearly four weeks.