The Indianapolis Colts announced nine roster moves on Sunday. By 4:00 PM ET on Tuesday, August 27th, rosters league-wide have to be trimmed to 53 players and set.
The players released by the Colts were wide receivers Tyrie Cleveland and Greg Ward, safety Ronnie Harrison, and defensive end Derek Rivers.
The players that the Colts waived included cornerback Clay Fields, receiver Derek Slywka, kicker Spencer Shrader, quarterback Kedon Slovis, and linebacker Mike Smith Jr.
The difference between the players who have been released versus waived, is released players are veterans who will become free agents and can sign where they please.
Waived players, however, will first go on waivers and can be claimed by other teams. If they go unclaimed, these players then become free agents and can sign where they wish.
It’s not a surprise that eight of these nine players were released but the one that obviously stands out is Harrison. You can read more about that decision here.
The Colts could try to bring any of these players back on the practice squad—assuming that none of the players who were waived get claimed on waivers.
Following these moves, the Colts roster is now down to 82 players, which means there are 29 more roster cuts that have to be made before Tuesday’s deadline.
