When are NFL cut days during the preseason? When do rosters have to be trimmed to 53
We just wrapped up the first week of preseason games around the NFL, and coaches are starting to get a better idea of the guys they want to keep and cut.
It’s a dreaded day for NFL hopefuls looking to make a 53-man roster. Cut day can either complete a players life long dream or bring that dream to an abrupt, devastating end. Hearts will be broken, dreams will be made, but the good news for players on the fringe, is there is only one official cut day this preseason.
Two more weeks to impress
The Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams wrapped up the first week of exhibition games on Sunday night from Sofi Stadium. We are getting closer and closer to kicking off Week 1 from Arrowhead on September 5th, and coaches know they have a limited amount of time to trim their roster.
For the last two seasons the NFL has allowed teams to keep their 90-man preseason roster for as long as they desire. Before the 2023 preseason, teams had to make periodic cuts in the days following each preseason game. There are none of these mandatory cuts the used to slice the roster down little by little until the final cut day shortly before the start of Week 1.
Teams, and coaches are still free to make cuts as they please and when they please, they are just not obligated to do so by the league’s mandate. If coaches want to keep 90 players from the start to the end of preseason they can do so, although that would make things awfully difficult for both those who have to do the cutting and those who are getting cut.
One and only cut date
That said, there is a universal final cut day around the league. All teams will have to settle their 53-man roster by August 27th, which is just two days after the final preseason game between the Washington Commanders and the New England Patriots.
Once the final rosters have been trimmed down, front offices will have just over a week to get the contract situations in order. The team must have contracts completed and come into Week 1 under each team’s salary cap by September 4th.
A day after that, the NFL regular season officially gets underway. The Kansas City Chiefs will begin their back-to-back title defense from Arrowhead against the 2023 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens on September 5th.