On Monday night, the Atlanta Falcons abruptly cut defensive end Ray Edwards. Per a league source, Edwards has now cleared waivers.
The window closed at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, with no teams making a claim for the man who spent five years with the Vikings and 25 games with the Falcons.
After the trade deadline, all players who are released must pass through waivers, regardless of their tenure in the NFL.
He’s now an unrestricted free agent, with the Falcons on the hook for the balance of his $3 million base salary. If he chooses to collect the seven remaining game checks from the Falcons as his one-time entitlement to in-season termination pay, Edwards can keep whatever he may make from a new team.
But first he needs to find a new team. With 3.5 sacks in the last two seasons, that’s hardly a given.