Following the Super Bowl, the NFL’s waiver wire period for the 2025 league year began on Monday, and the Indianapolis Colts will be 14th on that list.
From now through Week 3 of the 2025 regular season, the waiver wire order will align with the 2025 NFL draft order–hence why the Colts are 14th. From Week 4 and on in the regular season, the waiver wire priority will be determined by each team’s record at that point.
Players with four or more seasons of accrued NFL seasons are not subject to the waiver wire until after the 2025 NFL trade deadline. Up until that point, any player who is released and has at least four years of credited seasons will automatically become an unrestricted free agent and can sign where they please.
However, for those players with three or fewer accrued seasons, they will be subject to the waiver system.
In short, how this works, is once a player is on waivers, for 24 hours any team can put in a claim on that player. If the Colts and the Packers put in a claim on the same player, for example, that player would end up in Indianapolis because the Colts are 14th in waiver priority and the Packers are 23rd.
If a player goes unclaimed on waivers during that initial 24 hour period, they then become an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team.
Cornerback Samuel Womack was claimed on waivers by GM Chris Ballard following roster cutdowns prior to the 2024 NFL season.
Free agency and the draft are going to be the primary ways that the Colts add to their roster this offseason, but waivers is another avenue teams use and is something to be mindful of with the offseason underway.