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.

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:

Chicago Bears

Houston Texans

Arizona Cardinals

Indianapolis Colts

Denver Broncos

Los Angeles Rams

Las Vegas Raiders

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

Cleveland Browns

New York Jets

New England Patriots

Green Bay Packers

Washington Commanders

Pittsburgh Steelers

Detroit Lions

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Seattle Seahawks

Miami Dolphins

Los Angeles Chargers

Baltimore Ravens

Minnesota Vikings

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

Dallas Cowboys

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

San Francisco 49ers

Philadelphia Eagles

Kansas City Chiefs

Story originally appeared on Colts Wire