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NFL roster cuts 2019; Deadline date, schedule, rules, practice squad salary
When it comes to the schedule for NFL roster cuts, everything changed a couple years ago. Now there is a singular deadline for teams to trim their 90-man, preseason rosters down to 53 players as the regular season arrives.
Now, in most cases, NFL teams have to cut a total of 37 players within a two-day span to meet the deadline. This is why the final week of preseason football has become so important for players who are on their teams' roster bubbles and in danger of being cut; it's the final audition, of sorts.
In 2019, the deadline for NFL teams to cut their rosters down to 53 players is Saturday, Aug. 31 at 4 p.m. ET. That gives them just under two days on the heels of their final preseason games to make their decisions. Of course, in reality, most teams will have only a couple decisions to make; the majority of NFL rosters are already set.
As NFL cuts approach, here is all you need to know about the league's roster cut rules, the deadline for roster cuts and how practice squads factor into the equation.
When are NFL roster cuts 2019? Deadline date, schedule, rules
- NFL 53-man roster deadline: Saturday, Aug. 31 (4 p.m. ET)
In 2019, that deadline is Saturday, Aug. 31 at 4 p.m. ET. Because all Week 4 NFL preseason games will be played Thursday, Aug. 29, the majority of NFL roster cuts will occur Friday, Aug. 30. Again, NFL coaches already have a good idea of who will make the roster and who will not.
Below are the NFL's rules on roster cuts and the Aug. 31 deadline:
On Sunday, Sept. 1, the claiming period for players placed on waivers at the final roster reduction will expire at noon ET.
Then, 320 players will find out that getting cut is not yet the end of their road in the NFL. Because each team is granted 10 practice squad players in addition to its 53-man roster.
NFL practice squad salary
Beginning Sunday, Sept. 1 at roughly 1 p.m. ET, a full hour after the waiver claim period following roster cuts, teams may begin constructing their practice squads.
From the NFL:
Practice squad players in 2019 can earn a minimum of $8,000 per week during the regular season and postseason, per the current CBA, but there is no cap on the amount practice squad players can receive.
The minimum salary for NFL practice squad players has increased (and will increase one more time next year) for the duration of the current CBA.
An NFL practice squad typically is made up of rookies and undrafted free agents who the team recently cut. Each team can carry up to four veterans - who can have no more than two accrued NFL seasons (six games on the 53-man roster qualifies as an accrued season) - on its practice squad, and a player can't be on a given practice squad for more than three seasons.
Practice squad players are not eligible to play in games. Teams can sign players from other teams' practice squads as long as the players are added to the new teams' 53-man rosters (active/inactive).
