You see similar phenomena with long-term contractors (who jump projects all the time) - they are brought in with no agency in the project, get handed something

You see similar phenomena with long-term contractors (who jump projects all the time) - they are brought in with no agency in the project, get handed something to implement, they do it in move on. Sure they have experience implementing something others have designed, but that's just a small slice of software engineering. Although I agree it's not common to use that particular phrase with this situation.