On Tuesday, each NFL Club had to cut their rosters down to the required 53-man limit. That meant each team had to waive, release or place on one of the reserve lists about 27 players. That leaves many players available to the other League clubs.
If a player is “released,” it means he is a vested veteran, and he doesn’t go through the waiver process. He becomes an unrestricted free agent as soon as he is released. The other players have to be waived, which gives each of the other 31 Clubs an opportunity to put in claims on the players they may be interested in.