When is the 53-Man Roster Cutdown - 2024 NFL Outlook

By the end of training camp, NFL head coaches face a bittersweet moment: they must trim their rosters to the league-mandated 53-man limit. Deciding who makes the cut will be challenging, especially at the depth chart’s tail end.

All training camp aspirants would lay everything on the line for a roster spot. However, 37 out of the 90 athletes at training camp won’t fulfill that goal. They’re lucky if they get a place in the practice squad or picked up by another team.

With training camp season in full swing, the deadline for the 53-man roster cutdown is also fast approaching. Team fights during scrimmages will likely occur since everyone is manifesting their competitive spirit.

When Do NFL Teams Trim Their Roster to 53 Players?

Before the 2023 NFL season, teams had three phases for roster cutdowns. Since they can invite up to 90 players to training camp, they must reduce the roster to 85 after the first countdown. That number goes to 80 in the second cutdown and 53 in the third and final cutdown deadline.

This is how you carve out a spot on the 53-man roster, ladies and gentlemen 🫡
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— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 20, 2023

That three-phase rule no longer applies in 2024. Instead, teams are free to let players go anytime during training camp. However, franchises must have its final 53-man roster for Week 1 by August 27, 2024, at 4 p.m. Eastern Time.

How Do PUP, NFI, and IR affect the NFL roster count?

While all teams must have 53 active players by then, they could technically exceed the limit only if they have players on the physically unable to perform (PUP) and non-football-related injury (NFI) lists. Players designated here do not count against the 53-man limit.

Likewise, they must miss the first four weeks of the regular season before teams can open their practice window. However, the team must take someone off the active roster if they activate a player from the PUP or NFI list.

Conversely, players on injured reserve count against the 53-man active roster. However, they cannot be activated during the season if they went on IR before making the final roster.

What Happens to Players Who Don’t Make the 53-Player Cut?

NFL players who didn’t make the final roster but have at least four seasons of playing time will become free agents who can sign with any team. Meanwhile, those with fewer than four accrued seasons go on the waiver wire, wherein 31 other teams can claim them.

Players left unclaimed while on the waiver wire will become free agents. After being released, they could also join the practice squad, keeping their goal of playing in the NFL alive.