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As part of their roster cutdowns, the New England Patriots parted ways with multiple players over the last two days. However, not all cuts are the same as the NFL differentiates between veterans and less experienced players: if a player has less than four accrued seasons – more on that in a moment – on his résumé, he will not hit the open market right away but instead has to go through the waiver wire.
So, what exactly does this mean? Let’s find out.
How does the NFL’s waiver wire work?
The waiver wire allows teams to submit claims for younger players that have previously been cut by other teams. Organizations usually have 24 hours to submit claims but this window is shorter over the NFL’s cutdown weekend: with final cuts taking place at 4:00 p.m. ET yesterday, teams only have until 12:00 p.m. today to submit claims to a players rights. If a player gets claimed, he joins a team’s 53-man active roster.
What’s the waiver claim order?
For the first three weeks of the season, teams submit claims based on the draft order. The worst team – in this case the Cleveland Browns – is the first to put in a claim:
1. Cleveland Browns
10. Oakland Raiders
11. Miami Dolphins
16. Baltimore Ravens
18. Seattle Seahawks
19. Dallas Cowboys
20. Detroit Lions
21. Buffalo Bills
23. Los Angeles Rams
25. Tennessee Titans
26. Atlanta Falcons
31. New England Patriots
A player gets awarded to a team based on the ranking: if the Vikings and Patriots, for example, are the only teams to submit a claim for a player, he joins Minnesota given the team’s better ranking.
Who is placed on waivers?
As noted above, players with less than four accrued seasons need to pass through the waiver wire in order to hit “regular” unrestricted free agency. The NFL defines an accrued season as six or more games on either a team’s 53-man roster, or on injured reserve, or on the physically unable to perform list. All qualifying players released yesterday have hit the waiver wire and are subject to being claimed by other teams.
Which Patriots have hit the waiver wire?
The following is a list of Patriots that are subject to waivers:
DT John Atkins
P Corey Bojorquez
OL Cole Croston
QB Danny Etling
RB Kenneth Farrow
OL James Ferentz
DT Trent Harris
CB Cyrus Jones
OL Jason King
LB Harvey Langi
DE Eric Lee
WR K.J. Maye
WR Riley McCarron
DB A.J. Moore
FB Henry Poggi
DB Damarius Travis
TE Will Tye (reverts to injured reserve if unclaimed)
DT Vincent Valentine
RB Ralph Webb
CB Jomal Wiltz
WR Paul Turner
DT Frank Herron
WR Devin Lucien
CB Ryan Lewis
RB Khalfani Muhammad
Last year, the Patriots saw four of their cuts get claimed on waivers. The majority of players, however, passes through the wire unpicked – and thus becomes ready to get signed to the practice squad.
Which Patriots have not hit the waiver wire?
As noted, not all released players are subject to waivers. Those with more than four accrued seasons worth of experience will not have to go through the process. In New England’s case, we are speaking of the following six men:
RB Brandon Bolden
OL Luke Bowanko (injury settlement)
LB Marquis Flowers
RB Mike Gillislee
OL Brian Schwenke
OL Matt Tobin
All six players listed above are now free to sign with other teams – or the Patriots again, with the exception of Bowanko: as part of his injury settlement, he will now receive pre-negotiated payments by New England for a period that depends on the severity of his injury. However, he cannot be re-signed by the team during that time. Once the settlement period is over, Bowanko is free to join any team’s roster but would have to wait an additional six weeks to join New England’s again.
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