NFL Teams Must Cut Rosters to 53 by Aug. 30 as Waiver Claims Open Aug. 31
Updated
Updated · Raiders.com · Aug 23
NFL Teams Must Cut Rosters to 53 by Aug. 30 as Waiver Claims Open Aug. 31
3 articles · Updated · Raiders.com · Aug 23
Summary
All 32 NFL teams must trim active rosters to the 53-player limit by 3 p.m. PT on Sunday, Aug. 30, marking the league’s initial regular-season cutdown.
That roster will not be final: teams are expected to keep making moves as evaluations continue, with waived players and released veterans immediately feeding the next round of transactions.
Players with fewer than 4 accrued seasons go through waivers, where a claiming team assumes the existing contract; players with at least 4 seasons are released and become unrestricted free agents.
Waiver claims are due by 10 a.m. PT on Monday, Aug. 31, when awards follow waiver priority; for the first 3 weeks, that order mirrors the first round of the draft.
Practice squads can be set on Aug. 31 with up to 16 players, or 17 if one is in the International Pathway Program, extending roster churn beyond the cutdown deadline.