There’s always a bit of confusion around this time. For weeks we have been reading about the “final reduction” to 53 players. That happened Tuesday at 3 p.m. (Arrowhead Time) as the Kansas City Chiefs (and the rest of the NFL teams) took the steps to push their rosters to the season limit.
But that was really just the initial 53-man roster. Further steps are likely to follow in the coming days.
roster change
Beginning at 11 a.m. Arrowhead Time Wednesday, all players who have been waived (ie, players who have been released by teams while having fewer than four cumulative seasons in the NFL) may be claimed by other clubs.
Like all other teams, the Chiefs will have to file claims for these suspended players until then. But since they finished the 2021 season in the AFC championship game, they will be at the end of the line; If more than one claim is submitted for a player, their contract will be awarded to the eligible team with the worst record from the previous season.
Released players who are not claimed by other teams (ie, when they redeem waivers) then become free agents who can sign with any team. They will then join the veterans (those with at least four cumulative seasons) who were released from NFL rosters on Tuesday. Teams have been free to sign these veteran players since their release, so we’ll likely hear about some veteran signings across the league before Wednesday’s waiver period.
But when a team acquires a new player with either a waiver or a free agent signing, they have to make room by giving up a player who’s already on their 53-man roster. Some of these will be younger players who will be waived. Others will be elderly veterans who will be released. For them, the whole process repeats itself.
Some roster spots can be opened with trades. Others open when players are moved from the original lineup to the team’s reserve/injured (injured reserve) list. Unlike players added to IR before the 53-man cutdown, those added after the cutdown can be reinstated into the active roster after their teams have played at least four games.
We expect the Chiefs to make such a move immediately. It was reported that Kansas City will add tight end Blake Bell to its reserve/injured list and then replace him with veteran linebacker Elijah Lee, who was released Tuesday.
It all adds up to a lot of roster shifts leading up to the first games of the season – and even more after the season has started. An NFL roster is always subject to change.
practice squad
Also starting at 11 a.m. Arrowhead Time Wednesday, NFL teams can begin forming practice groups. According to the rules, which come from the 2020 collective agreement (and have been changed several times – most recently in May), these practice groups may consist of up to 16 players. They can include up to six veteran players with any amount of NFL experience.
These players can do almost anything that players on the active list can do: train at the practice facility, attend team meetings, and participate in practices. However, they cannot appear in games unless they are added to the active roster for a specific game (which does not require a corresponding change of roster) or added to the active roster – which requires a player to be removed from the roster . Under current rules, individual players on the practice team can be promoted up to three times during the regular season. There are no limits on individual player raises in the postseason.
Click here for a full summary of practice group rules.