The August 30, 4 p.m. ET deadline has passed, and each of the 32 NFL teams’ roster is now down to 53 players.
What happens now for the Commanders?
Each team will be permitted to form their practice squad by signing up to 16 players from the pool of players available not currently on a 53-man roster of an NFL team who were part cut in the 80-down-to-53 roster reductions made this week by all NFL teams.
This process will begin Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET. Prior to the 12 p.m. deadline, each team will present waiver requests to the league regarding players they would like to claim off of waivers and possibly sign.
The Commanders will be the 11th team in the NFL waiver order. The waiver order is determined by the records of NFL teams during the 2021 season. Thus the top four teams will be the Jaguars, Lions, Texans and Jets. The final four teams will be 49ers, Chiefs, Bengals and Rams.
This process is set in place because naturally there will be several players who are requested by multiple teams. So for example if the Rams (32), Buccaneers (27), Cowboys (24), Eagles (19) and Commanders (11) all request the same player. The NFL will then (after the 12 pm deadline for requests) award the player to Washington because they come earlier in the order of teams requesting the same player.
Wednesday, from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m., teams can plan and strategize what players they will sign to their practice squads and what players they will sign to their 53-man roster.
Once we reach 4 p.m. Wednesday, teams can officially sign the players to their practice squads, sign claimed players to their 53-man roster, or place some of their players on the injured reserve list. Players placed on this IR list will by rule not be permitted to play in at least the team’s next four regular season games. If a team determines to place a player on the IR list prior to 4 pm, that designated player is being placed on the injured reserve list for the entire season.
One more designation may help. What is the difference between a player being “waived” and a player being “released?”
NFL players who have accrued four seasons are “released,” designated free agents, and given the freedom to sign with any other NFL team. Those players who have not accrued four seasons are “waived”, their contract stays intact, and they enter the NFL waiver process.
Consequently, the Commanders’ coaches and front office personnel will be very busy Wednesday, and there will be much more news beginning at 4 p.m.