Your Guide to Football’s Cutdown Deadline

From afar, it’s easy to think of an NFL roster as little more than a list of names, whether it’s on a piece of paper or a website. In reality, though, things are more complicated than that. Not only does a team have to cover its bases—you can’t go into the season with only one quarterback, for example—but each name on the roster is a real person, with real hopes and dreams.

That final reality will make Tuesday, August 29, especially painful. That is the deadline for NFL teams to trim their rosters ahead of the regular season.

But what do NFL roster cuts actually entail? Here’s your guide to the cutdown deadline.

What is the NFL’s roster cut deadline?

At its core, NFL cutdown day is a numbers game.

During the preseason, teams are allowed to have 90 players on the roster. That gives the clubs a chance to check out players who are sitting on the fringes and see what they have to offer. Once training camp ends, though, that extra allowance evaporates.

During the regular season, there are 53 roster spots available per team. And the cut deadline represents the day when rosters have to be trimmed.

When is NFL roster cut deadline?

This year, the NFL roster cut deadline is 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 29.

So, by that date, every team in the league has to reduce its active roster to 53 players. There are, however, some specific rules regarding a few situations.

Is there only one roster cut deadline?

In previous years, NFL teams had to gradually trim their rosters week-by-week during the preseason. That process, though, is a thing of the past.

Now, there’s just one cutdown date. While clubs were free to make moves ahead of that deadline, there’s no formal rules other than getting your business done by 4 p.m. Tuesday.

What happens to injured players?

While the NFL is infamous for having largely non-guaranteed contracts, injured players aren’t automatically kicked to the curb at the end of training camp. There are a few ways to remain in the organization without taking up a spot on the roster.

The Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List is for players who missed the entirety of training camp with a football-related injury. These players can participate in team activities but are ineligible to practice. If you remain on the PUP list after roster cutdowns, you don’t count toward the active roster, but you must miss at least the first four games of the season.

The Non-Football Injury (NFI) List is similar to the PUP list with two notable exceptions. First, the injury is unrelated to football, like how Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick hurt his wrist while biking last summer. Second, these players don’t receive salary, while players on the PUP list do.

Players can also land on injured reserve (IR) if they’re going to be out for a longer period. These players also don’t count toward the active roster.

Beyond that, though, teams can release players who would be bound for IR with an injury settlement. That essentially means the two parties agree to part ways, presumably with some compensation, and it’s usually designed to allow the player a chance to sign with a new team rather than spending time on the sidelines only to be released later in the year.

Being waived vs. being released

When a player fails to make the roster, you’ll hear that they were either waived or released. While those two terms may sound interchangeable, they aren’t.

Although being waived and released have the same end result—you’re off the team— there is a slight difference. Players who have less than four seasons of accrued service time are released, meaning they’re free to sign with any team. If a player has more than four seasons of experience, he is waived and has to clear the waiver process in which he can be claimed by other teams. If the player passes through unclaimed, he then is in the same free-agent boat as a released player.

How practice squad works

The practice squad is a group of players that helps a team prepare for each week’s game in practice. It might not be a glamorous role, but it provides a chance for young players to get their foot in the door or for older players to hang around the league and show they can contribute. And, for our purposes, it affects roster management.

Each team can have 16 players on the practice squad. The rules regarding eligibility are:

• Players who do not have any accrued seasons of NFL experience (rookies);
• Players who were on the active list for fewer than nine regular-season games during their accrued season(s);
• Up to four players per team who have earned no more than two accrued seasons (no game limitations);
• Up to six players per team with no limitations regarding their number of accrued seasons.

So, while it’s not a guarantee of safety—another team can intervene with a better offer and sign a player off another’s practice squad—clubs will try to stash potentially useful players there. That role also lets the player keep earning a salary and stay in the organization.

So, don’t be surprised to see some released players finding their way onto practice squads rather promptly.