Following his release from the Arizona Cardinals, the Indianapolis Colts were awarded cornerback Korey Lindsey through the waiver wire. Lindsey, a former seventh-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2011 NFL draft, elected to sign with Arizona's practice squad rather than returning to Cincinnati following final cuts last year. However it appears that the Bengals aren't quite finished with him.
According to NFL Insider Adam Caplan, the Cincinnati Bengals put a waiver claim on Lindsey before he was awarded to the Indianapolis Colts.
The process is simple. Teams with the worst record (much like the order of the NFL draft) have the first opportunity to claim a player that's placed on waivers. Interested teams submit a claim on that player and the team with the worst record is awarded the rights on that player (and that player's contract).
It's not surprising that the Bengals put a claim in on Lindsey. Obviously drafting the player shows a level of interest that already exists. But they tried signing Lindsey to the team's practice squad following final cuts last year. And with the team's mixture of age and youth, it may have made sense to develop Lindsey on the team's practice squad (if he cleared waivers following final cuts) as an eventual replacement with the older cornerbacks on the roster. Not that it matters at this point.