Now that every team has reduced from a maximum of 90 players to a limit of 75, teams will be tinkering with the final few spots on the roster.
Just like they were when they were allowed to have 90 players.
Whatever the limit, teams always will consider whether they can upgrade the last few seats at the table. Which puts the guys who are at the bottom of the pecking order perpetually at risk of being cut, through the regular season and into the postseason and, as receiver Tiquan Underwood learned the hard way in February, right up until the eve of the Super Bowl.
The latest example of roster churning came earlier this afternoon, when the Colts announced that they have claimed undrafted rookie receiver Kashif Moore (pictured) on waivers from the Bengals. To create a space for Moore, the Colts waived receiver Jarred Fayson with the “injured” designation. If unclaimed, he’ll be assigned to Indy’s injured reserve list.
Now that the rosters have reduced to 75, teams no longer must waive an injured player in order to send him to IR. Teams can choose to do it, in the hopes that another team may choose to take the injured player off the waiving team’s hands.
For more on some of the unexciting-but-important rules regarding the procedures for trimming rosters, here’s a snippet from the typically unexciting-and-unimportant PFT Live.