Specifically pertaining to Dwight Freeney. He's been released by Colts. If he was still a FA and not released, he couldn't be signed until March but now that he's been released, could he be signed before then? If the Colts hadn't released him yet he wouldn't technically be a FA yet. Does anyone know the stipulations on signing waived players?

He'll go through waivers and be available to teams, in waive order. After that he'll be a free agent and unsignable until march 1st or whenever.

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4/27/13 - I was there #humblethug

Hmmm....Thanks for the response. Would it be an advantage to put a waiver claim on him or wait until March 1? I guess it's becoming moot as March 1 is next Friday. The reason why I asked was they signed Will Blackmon last week. Will wasn't part of any team so I thought that may also apply to players released by teams to date.

He was a Free Agent. The Colts just let him know they would not be re-signing him. Thus he isn't eligible to sign with another team until the opening of the FA period.

Freeney shouldn't have been surprised



Freeney disappointed

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"The Seahawks are now known league wide as the team sooooooo badass and smashmouth and hard hitting that they couldn't even go thru their own practices without laying smack down on fools." - JSeahawks

Thanks Diags. I thought he had been released but if he's only been told that he's not going to be resigned then yeah he's not available yet.

I think someone like Osi meets your OP. But the caveat there is that I believe Osi will be not be free to sign with another team until FA opens up. I am confused on some of this stuff. Titus Young is now a Free agent after clearing waivers. Could he be signed now or would he have to wait until March? Yet if a player is waived, he can be claimed on waivers like the DB from the Saints.

Vested veterans versus younger players. It is a confusing process sometimes.

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"The Seahawks are now known league wide as the team sooooooo badass and smashmouth and hard hitting that they couldn't even go thru their own practices without laying smack down on fools." - JSeahawks

I believe vets like Freeney are not subject to the waiver process. That only applies to players who have not been in the league for a certain amount of years.

A player who meets the time criteria is free to sign with any team when he is officially released, if I remember correctly.

But like it was mentioned, Freeney is not being released because he will be a FA.

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Good point. I totally forgot about Osi. Also, Michael Boley from the Giants. He's the LB the Giants waived a few weeks ago. Boley may be a good fit to replace the void at LB. He's 30 years old but still had 92 tackles and 3 INTs last year. Plus, I don't believe he would "break the bank" so to speak. He may be had for a 1-2 year contract.

Titans just signed George Wilson S, who was cut earlier by the Bills so that shows you don't have to wait until the opening of FA for waived players. Osi, Bradshaw and others may have been told they will be cut come March but not actually cut yet? That must be the thing that is escaping me right now.

The Redzone ‏@TheRedzoneorg

Titans agree to terms with former Bills S George Wilson link #NFL #Titans

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"The Seahawks are now known league wide as the team sooooooo badass and smashmouth and hard hitting that they couldn't even go thru their own practices without laying smack down on fools." - JSeahawks

There is a difference between waived players, released players, and players whose contracts expire.

Players who have under 4 years of accumulated time on an nfl roster are "waived" when the team cuts them. They go through the waiver wire and if a team puts in a claim,they agree to take on his contract. If he clears waivers he is an UFA. (Example. Titus Young)

Vets who have accumulated more time are "released" when a team cuts them. They become
UFA immediately. (Example George Wilson)

Players whose contracts "expired" at the end of the season are not free to sign with any team until the start of FA in March. (Example Dwight Freeney).

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Give me some damn skittles...

The question in regards to Osi and Bradshaw. Are they to be released players or ??? Coughlin speaks of having to release Bradshaw as one of his hardest things to do. Bradshaw and Osi should be in the same category as Wilson, but yet it sounds as though these guys are going to be released but just not yet.

That is what muddies the water for me.

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"The Seahawks are now known league wide as the team sooooooo badass and smashmouth and hard hitting that they couldn't even go thru their own practices without laying smack down on fools." - JSeahawks

Bradshaw was officially released on 2/6. He didn't need to go through waivers and can sign with any team. He likely hasn't been signed because of his injury history.

Osi's contract is expiring. He is NOT free to sign with any team until the start of Free Agency in March.

Make sense?

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Give me some damn skittles...

Yep. Just saw that Osi was an expiring contract and was coming back to correct myself. Got it.

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"The Seahawks are now known league wide as the team sooooooo badass and smashmouth and hard hitting that they couldn't even go thru their own practices without laying smack down on fools." - JSeahawks

Cool. It is a bit tricky. Easier to figure out for a given player if you answer two questions:

1. How many years have the been in the league? (Determines if they are waived or released)
2. How many years are left on their contracts?

From a teams transaction tracker and sitws like rotoworld you can figure it out.

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Give me some damn skittles...