Where do the Colts rank in waiver wire priority?

While cutdown day is chaotic around the NFL, another important aspect of the process is the waiver wire. The Indianapolis Colts should be one of the more active teams after the roster deadline passes Tuesday.

First, we must begin by looking at what the process of being waived means.

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Players with fewer than four accrued NFL seasons are subject to waivers.  Players with at least four accrued seasons are released outright, and they are free to sign with any team immediately. An example of the latter for the Colts would be the release of running back Kenyan Drake, who has been in the NFL since 2016.

Any player with fewer than four accrued NFL seasons becomes subject to waivers for 24 hours and can not sign with a team unless they go unclaimed. If they clear waivers, they become a free agent able to sign with any team. If they are claimed, the team making the claim will take on whatever contract exists at the time.

At this point, the waiver order is determined by the NFL draft order before trades. So even if a team traded away their first-round pick, they still hold that original spot in the waiver order.

Every team makes waiver claims at the same time, and the team with the highest waiver wire position gets both the player and his existing contract. There is no limit on how many waiver claims a team can make, but they must make corresponding moves to satisfy the 53-player roster limit.

Here’s a look at the full waiver wire order following roster cuts:

1. Chicago Bears
2.  Houston Texans
3. Arizona Cardinals
4. Indianapolis Colts
5. Denver Broncos
6. Los Angeles Rams
7. Las Vegas Raiders
8. Atlanta Falcons
9. Carolina Panthers
10. New Orleans Saints
11. Tennessee Titans
12. Cleveland Browns
13. New York Jets
14. New England Patriots
15. Green Bay Packers
16. Washington Commanders
17. Pittsburgh Steelers
18. Detroit Lions
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
20. Seattle Seahawks
21. Miami Dolphins
22. Los Angeles Chargers
23. Baltimore Ravens
24. Minnesota Vikings
25. Jacksonville Jaguars
26. New York Giants
27. Dallas Cowboys
28. Buffalo Bills
29. Cincinnati Bengals
30. San Francisco 49ers
31. Philadelphia Eagles
32. Kansas City Chiefs