After a preseason showdown against the Cleveland Browns, the New England Patriots will begin cutting down their 90-man roster. The team needs to make 37 moves ahead of the NFL's deadline on Sunday, Aug. 30, at 6 p.m. ET. A majority of those personnel changes will come through the most straightforward roster reduction method: cutting players.
However, not all 37 transactions will be the same. The NFL has separate protocols for so-called vested veterans and players with less league experience. Veterans immediately enter the open market as free agents after being released, while the latter must pass through the waiver wire, where they can be claimed by another franchise or enter free agency if unclaimed.
What exactly does all of this mean for the Patriots and the NFL's other 31 teams, though? Let's break it down.
Franchises will make their final preparations before the season, with substantial changes being made to league rosters. Players will either be waived or released, but not all will instantly become free agents and be free to sign with any team.
When a player is "waived," they are subject to the waiver wire, where any team can claim them and ******* ume their current contract. Currently, the waiver wire order is dependent on the NFL Draft order from this past April, but without any trades.

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