At 3 p.m. Arrowhead Time on Tuesday, the Kansas City Chiefs (and the rest of the NFL’s teams) must trim their 90-man roster down to 53 players.

Let’s take a look at all the ways they can trim their rosters.

A player is released

Sometimes called a cut, this is the simplest roster move. It may only be used with vested veterans — those with at least four credited seasons in the league. Players gain a credited season when they are on (or should have been on) a team’s active roster for at least three games.

In a release, the team exercises its option to cancel a player’s contract. The player immediately becomes an unrestricted free agent who can sign with any other team. Whatever salary the player was due for the current season is not paid — and the team gains that same amount in salary-cap space for that year.

But any dead money from that player’s contract — that is, anything that has already been paid to the player but will be counted against the salary cap in the future (such as a signing bonus spread across multiple years) — is immediately charged to the current year.

This means the team’s cap savings will be the player’s cap hit for that season minus any dead money.

Special note: if the player’s contract extends beyond the current year, it is possible for the dead money from only the current year to be charged against that season’s cap; whatever remains can then be counted against the following year’s cap. This can be done only if the release occurs after June 1 — or if a release made before June 1 is designated as a June 1 release. Each team can make only two such designations in a season.

A player is waived

This is how teams cut ties with players with fewer than four credited seasons. The key difference is that their NFL contract might remain in force. Here’s how it works:

For up to 24 hours, another team may claim the waived player. (The claiming period always begins at 3 p.m. Arrowhead Time the day the player is officially waived). If multiple teams put in a waiver claim, the one with the worst record in the previous season is awarded the player’s contract.

But if no team puts in a waiver claim, the player’s contract is canceled; the player becomes a free agent who can sign with any team.

In either case, the old team’s cap space is increased by the amount of the player’s unpaid salary for that season — but just like with the release of a vested veteran, the old team must account for any dead money. If the player has ended up with another team, then the new team must account for what the player is owed for the current season (and any season that follows) under its salary cap.

Here’s an example of a waiver transaction: Last season, Team A signed an undrafted player to a standard three-year UDFA contract. The player was paid a $300,000 signing bonus. In all three seasons of the deal, the player’s cap hit is their base salary plus $100,000 — the original signing bonus divided by three contract years. (This is known as the prorated signing bonus).

But on this year’s final cutdown day, Team A waives the player. Team B — the previous Super Bowl winner — puts in a claim. So does Team C, which finished last year with a 1-16 record. So Team C is awarded the player’s contract, which still has two seasons to run.

Team A’s cap space now increases by the amount of the player’s base salary this season — while Team C’s cap space now decreases by the same amount. Team A, however, must continue to carry the waived player’s $100,000 pro-rated signing bonus against its cap this season. Since the player has moved on, it must also count the $100,000 proration for next year against this year’s cap.

But wait! Since this transaction occurred after June 1, Team A has the option to count the following year’s proration against that season’s salary cap. (Most teams will do this).

Special notes: wavier rules also apply to vested veterans when they are released after each season’s trading deadline. Starting in 2024, that is the Tuesday following Week 9’s games. After each Super Bowl, releases of vested veterans go back to normal.

Also: immediately after the final roster cutdown, the waiver period is shorter. It begins at the final cutdown, but lasts only until 11 a.m. Arrowhead Time the next day. At that time, teams may begin to assemble their 16-man practice squads. (Teams may also sign a 17th International Pathway Program player to their taxi squads).

A player is traded

Like a player claimed on waivers, a traded player’s contract moves to their new team, leaving any dead money with the original team. So when a rare player-for-player trade is made, this happens with both teams. But more commonly, a player is traded for draft picks — meaning that the player’s original team gains some salary-cap space while the new team loses some.

Special note: in some trades — particularly for high-value players near the end of their contracts — the new team may insist on negotiating a new contract with the player before agreeing to the deal. These kinds of deals, however, typically happen during the free-agency period in late March and early April.

A player is waived/injured

“Waived/injured” is shorthand for “waived with an injury designation.” For both the player and team, it works the same way as a waiver — except for one thing: if no team claims the player, they revert to the waiving team’s Reserve/Injured list. This list is often called “injured reserve.” Teams then have a five-day window in which they may make an injury settlement with the player. This compensates the player for the time it is estimated they will be injured — and makes the player a free agent. (Like all monies paid to players, this settlement counts against the cap).

A player is placed on the Reserve/Injured list

Of course, injured players may also be placed directly on this list.

Players on Reserve/Injured do not count on a team’s active roster. Their contracts, however, still count (usually at a pre-negotiated reduced rate) against the team’s salary cap.

For example: If a player with a fully-guaranteed contract (or a contract guaranteed for injury) is on Reserve/Injured, the full amount counts against the cap.

Special note: When a player goes on a team’s Reserve/Injured list on (or before) the final cutdown day, they must remain on the list for the whole season. But if they are placed on Reserve/Injured after the final cutdown, they may be designated to return to the active roster after they have missed four games. During each season, teams can do this up to eight times (10 times if the team makes the postseason). An individual player may be designated up to two times, but each one of those designations counts against the team’s season limit.

Starting in 2024, teams may identify up to two players already on their Reserve/Injured lists at the final cutdown as eligible for a designation to return. This may be done starting at 3 p.m. Arrowhead Time on the day after the final cutown.

For example: a team places Player A on its Reserve/Injured list on August 1. On August 8, it lists Player B there. The day after the final cutdown, the team informs the league that Player B is eligible for a designation to return. Player A will now spend the whole season on Reserve/Injured, while Player B may be designated to return.

A note about the timing, however: for the 24 hours after the final cutdown, players on the Reserve/Injured list may (or may not) be lost for the season.

Later, when a player is designated for return, they may begin practicing with the team. A 21-day window is opened. During this time, the player may be activated to the roster, waived, released or traded. If none of those things happen, the player returns to Reserve/Injured for the rest of the season.

A player is placed on the PUP or NFI list

PUP stands for physically unable to perform. NFI stands for non-football injury. The PUP list is for players who were injured while playing (or practicing) NFL football, while the NFI list is for those who cannot play because they have been hurt in any other activity (including players who are still recovering from injuries sustained while playing in college) or have an illness or medical condition that prevents them from playing.

There are two types of each list. The Active/PUP and Active/NFI lists are used only before the regular season begins. The Reserve/PUP and Reserve/NFI lists are used during the season.

As you might expect from these names, players on the active versions of both lists count against their team’s roster limit, while those on the reserve variants do not.

Players on any of these lists may not practice with their teammates. They are, however, allowed to attend team meetings and rehab with team trainers.

Players may only be placed on Active/PUP or Active/NFI lists before they have practiced with the team, so this usually happens just as training camp begins.

Players are removed from all four lists by passing a physical. (So when a player on a PUP or NFI list is reported to have “passed their physical,” they are coming off that list).

If a player remains on Active/PUP or Active/NFI at the final cutdown, they must be activated to the roster, waived, released or traded — or placed on the Reserve/PUP, Reserve/NFI or Reserve/Injured lists.

Players placed on Reserve/PUP or Reserve/NFI must remain there for at least four games of the regular season. Unlike with Reserve/Injured, there is no 21-day window; passing the physical activates the player to the roster.

Players on Reserve/PUP are paid their full salaries, which count against the salary cap. But unless a particular player has contract language that says otherwise, players on Reserve/NFI do not earn their salaries — and therefore, those do not count against the cap.