Join *Jaguars Inside Report *Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
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Dave Kanaszka from Neptune Beach, FL:**
Can you take a moment and explain how the waiver system works? When someone is waived, which teams have the first rights to that player? How fast can he be claimed? Is the waiver wire a website or how exactly do they scan the waiver wire? Thanks for your time.
Vic: When a player is waived, all of the other teams in the league have 24 hours to put in a claim for that player. Waiver and claim information is conducted via e-mail through the league office. After a 24-hour period, claims are honored according to the order of the teams, which is currently the same as last spring's draft order; the Jaguars are currently 13th in the claim order. If the Chargers (first in the claim order) and the Jaguars each put in a claim for the same player, the Chargers would be granted the rights to that player. That changes after the third game of the season, when the order then reverts to current records; ties are broken by the playoffs tie-breaker formula. It's called the "waiver wire" because years ago the information was communicated by wire.
Bert Inabinet from Jacksonville Beach, FL:
I'm so happy to see players making it back for Sunday's game. I'm thinking the Jaguars are going to step up this season and beat the Steelers. My question is: I wonder when the Steelers will finally give up on you know who at QB, then ask themselves why it took so long to get to that point(and what it cost them). Either you have it or you don't and, Sunday, "Slash" won't.
Vic: The short answer is that the Steelers must believe Kordell Stewart can play. The long answer is that the Steelers are a very patient organization that still operates with the belief that it "takes five years to develop a starting NFL quarterback." Their greatest fear is that they might quit too soon on a player who is about to come into his prime. Tampa Bay had to live with that regret about Steve Young. In the Steelers' case, their reluctance to give up on quarterbacks is still the result of having been the team that cut Pittsburgh native Johnny Unitas. It was a move that haunted the Steelers for more than a decade.
George Young from Brunswick, GA:
What determines the color of uniforms worn at home and away games? I have been wondering this for years and can't seem to see any sort of pattern.
Vic: The home team has its choice of uniforms. This Sunday, the Jaguars have chosen to wear their white uniforms, which means the Steelers will have to wear black.
R. Gordon from Jacksonville:
Tell us about the situation with an injured player and a team being able to release that player after some kind of injury settlement. I thought a team was unable to cut a player who's injured.
Vic: If a team wants to cut a player who is injured, they must declare him "waived/injured," which alerts any potential claiming teams of the player's status. If that player is claimed, and the player passes the claiming team's physical examination, the claiming team inherits his injury and its liability. If that player is claimed and fails the claiming team's physical exam, the team's claim is extinguished. At that point, or if the player initially clears waivers, the team that waived him must either put the player on the team's injured reserve list, or come to an injury settlement with the player.
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Vic Ketchman is the Senior Editor of Jaguars Inside Report, the official team newspaper of the Jacksonville Jaguars. One-year subscriptions may be purchased by calling 1-888-846-5247.
