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How Do NFL Rosters Work? Preseason Cuts and Practice Squads, Explained
With the NFL preseason complete, let's take a closer look at how the league's rosters break down.
The NFL preseason is over, and the official 2024 season kicks off September 5 on NBC and Peacock.
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Over the month of August, NFL coaches and players worked to perfect their squads for the 2024 campaign, doing everything from memorizing coverage schemes to studying film to, of course, getting the roster in order. If you catch a preseason game this season, and then watch a regular season matchup, you might notice that those rosters look a little different. So, why do rosters change so much between preseason and regular season, how does it all work, and why do some players get to join a practice squad while others get cut? Let's take a closer look at how NFL rosters take shape.
What Happens to NFL Preseason Players Who Don't Make the Team?
A preseason NFL roster is composed of 90 players, ranging from league veterans and major stars to brand-new athletes straight from the draft to undrafted free agents who just happened to be lucky enough to get a call. These 90 hopefuls all report to each team's training camp –– a few weeks of extended practices before the preseason –– and then suit up for preseason games throughout the month of August.
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But as you might have already been able to tell from looking at the sidelines, a regular season NFL roster is made up of considerably less than 90 players. So, what happens to the several dozen players who don't make the final active roster for a given team?
Well, that's a little complicated, but the good news is that if you get cut from an NFL team during the preseason, you at least have options. Each team will spend the preseason eliminating nearly 40 players from their roster. Some of those players will be moved to the team's practice squad, where they have a chance of being called up during the regular season to join the active roster temporarily or, in some cases, permanently. Others will become free agents and have a chance to sign with another team who's looking for an athlete that meets their description. Still others won't get offers from NFL teams, but could move into jobs with other leagues like the UFL or even look at coaching positions across the world of football.
It's a tough process, and an unpredictable one as preseason begins, but every team starts with 90 members, and every team has to make some serious cuts.
How Many Players Are on an NFL Team?
So, everyone starts with 90 players, and everyone makes cuts. How many cuts? Well, by the end of the preseason, every NFL team has to narrow their roster down to 53 players. Of those 53, 48 will suit up as part of the game-day roster each Sunday, with the other five placed on injured reserve or simply sitting out, depending on the shape the team is in that week.
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Where this gets interesting, of course, is that every 53-man roster is a little different depending on the team's needs. If you're a team that values speed and wants a large, rotating roster of receivers and defensive backs, you might have more players in those categories. If you're concerned about your quarterback, you might suit up two backups instead of just one. If you like your ground game, you might keep extra running backs in the tank.
Whatever your gameplan, you have to narrow your team down to 53 players by the start of the regular season. And to make things a little more interesting, every team's 53-man roster has to fit the league's official salary cap, which in 2024 is set at $255.4 million per team. That sounds like a lot, but if you've got an elite quarterback or wide receiver on your squad, that money starts to go fast.
When Does the NFL Cut Players?
Once upon a time, teams were required to turn in a certain number of cuts for every week of the preseason, gradually lowering their player count until 53 was reached at the end of preseason play. That's no longer the case, but there is still a deadline to get it all done.
Under current league rules, teams can keep 90 players throughout the preseason, though most teams will begin making their more obvious cuts by the time the first preseason week has ended. In 2024, the final cut day is August 27, which means teams have to make all personnel decisions by the end of that day. Teams will then have another week to make sure all of their contracts fit under the salary cap, so by the end of the day on September 4 (the day before opening day), rosters and salaries will be set.
How Does the NFL Practice Squad Work?
For a select number of players, getting cut from the main roster doesn't mean losing your shot with a team. Each NFL squad is able to sign up to 16 players to its "practice squad," a kind of reserve unit of players that will serve as backups in case other players are injured, traded, or otherwise unable to play.
Practice squad players have an interesting set of rights within the league, in that they are employees of one team but, because of their status, have the option to sign with any other team during the season. So, if you're on a practice squad for the Cowboys and you get an offer to join the active roster of the Giants, you can sign that contract. What you can't do is hop from one team's practice squad to another.
Practice squad players will earn a minimum of $12,500 per week in 2024, and depending on league experience, they can earn up to $21,300 per week. Players can be called up to the active roster at any time, but if they're repeatedly called up during the season they stand to join the active roster for the entire season.
The NFL Regular Season Kicks off September 5 with a special Thursday night edition of Sunday Night Football, live on NBC and Peacock.
Originally published Aug 1, 2024.
