The Indianapolis Colts have one more preseason game before making the difficult decisions necessary to get their roster down to 53. 

To better understand the cut-down process, I will share detailed breakdowns of the timeline and terms that impact it. 

When is it? How do teams do it? Both of these questions and more will be answered below. 

When is it? 

This year NFL teams must cut down from their current 90-man roster to 53 by Tuesday, August 29th at 4 pm est. 

How do teams do it?

You will see teams use multiple different terms when getting their roster down to 53. So what are all the ways teams can remove or withhold a player from their 53-man roster?

Release:

One way teams will remove players from their roster is by releasing them. Players that are released do not go on through the NFL's waiver process. They become free agents immediately. The only players that qualify to be released are those who have been in the NFL for at least four years. 

Waive: 

Another way teams will remove players from their roster is by waiving them. Players who do not qualify for being released are those that have not been in the NFL for at least four seasons. Those players are waived and must go through the NFL waiver wire, which allows NFL teams to put in a claim on young players who have been waived from their respective teams. While on the waiver wire, the player's original contract that they signed with the team waiving them stays intact, and if a team claims them, they take on said contract. 

These claims are then sorted using the league's waiver priority list. This list is created using the reverse standings of last year's records. For example, the Indianapolis Colts hold the 4th best waiver priority spot. Therefore if the Colts put a claim in on a player, they would be rewarded the player unless one of the three teams higher than them also put a claim in for that said player. The three teams higher than them being the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, and the Arizona Cardinals. If a player goes unclaimed, they become a free agent, and their original contract is now voided. 

Injury Reserve

The NFL's "Reserve/Injure" list, better known as the Injury Reserve or IR list, is for players that will miss time due to a football injury after training camp begins. Players placed on the IR list do not count toward the team's active roster while keeping their contract with the team intact. 

During the regular season, if a player is placed on IR, they can return after missing three weeks. This is not the case for players placed on IR before the regular season. Any player placed on the IR before the regular season begins must miss the entire year. 

Therefore any player placed on IR by their team during cut down will have to miss the entire season but will not count toward the team's 53-man roster. Some players the Colts have already placed on the IR are rookies Daniel Scott and Jake Witt. 

PUP list

The NFL's PUP list stands for "Physically Unable to Perform." This list actually has two different classifications, the "Active PUP" and the "Reserve PUP."

Active PUP

The "Active PUP" is for players to be placed on before training camp due to a football-related injury. Players are not eligible for this version once they practice or participate in a preseason game. Players on the "Active PUP" can participate in all team activities outside of practice and games and still count toward the team's active roster. For example, the Colts elected to place Jonathan Taylor, Tyquan Lewis, and Will Mallory on the "Active PUP" prior to training camp beginning; the only player remaining on that list is Jonathan Taylor. 

Reserve PUP

All players placed on the "Reserve PUP" must have also been on the "Active PUP" throughout training camp. During roster cut down's teams may move players on the "Active PUP" to the "Reserve PUP." These players would not count toward the team's active roster while keeping them under contract. These players then are forced to miss at least the first four games of the NFL's regular season. Therefore the only player on the Colts that could be placed on the "Reserve PUP" is Jonathan Taylor. 

Reserve/Suspended

Players who have been suspended by the NFL do not count toward their team's active roster. Those players are able to participate in training camp and even play in the preseason. A player on the Colts that this affects is CB Chris Lammons, who is suspended for the first three games of the season.

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