NFL final cuts: Explaining important dates, rules as Panthers work to get to 53-man limit
The Panthers still have plenty of work to do to reach the 53-man roster limit ahead of Tuesday’s NFL cutdown deadline.
Saturday, the team dropped from 90 to 79 players following a first wave of 11 cuts. Now, the front office and coaching staff will have more tough decisions to make before meeting the NFL-mandated roster numbers.
Those decisions will come with heavy roster maneuvering. From the numbers game at specific positions to figuring out the potential practice squad spots, GM Scott Fitterer and head coach Frank Reich have a lot to think about.
To better understand the Panthers’ options, here is a look at important dates and rules relating to the final cut deadline:
When is the NFL cutdown deadline?
The NFL will have just one cutdown deadline this year. In previous years, multiple deadlines were used to slowly shrink rosters during the preseason.
This year’s cutdown deadline is at 4 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 29). Every team in the league needs to be down to the 53-man roster limit by that time.
When will teams be able to claim cut players off waivers?
Players who are subject to waivers will be available to be claimed at noon Wednesday (Aug. 30).
The NFL will follow the priority list as established by the 2023 NFL Draft. The Chicago Bears, for instance, will have first priority on the wire, while the Panthers will be ninth in the pecking order.
Teams may place multiple claims on the waiver wire, and they’ll be rewarded claimed players based on their order on the priority list.
When can teams establish their practice squad?
Following the waiver claim period (noon Aug. 30), teams can start to put together their 16-man practice squads.
There are no experience limits on signing players to the practice squad, and vested veterans are eligible for the group.
What is the Physically Unable Perform (PUP) reserve list?
Teams can place players on the PUP reserve list to preserve roster spots.
For instance, the Panthers can place right guard Austin Corbett (ACL), the team’s only eligible PUP player, on the PUP reserve list ahead of final cuts to open up a roster spot. If Corbett is moved to the reserve list, he has to miss at least the first four games of the 2023 season.
How can a player receive a ‘return’ designation on injured reserve?
If a player is placed on injured reserve ahead of the cutdown deadline, he won’t be eligible for a return designation. The only way that player can return to his current team during the regular season is if he agrees to an injury settlement with the squad and clears waivers.
Once the settlement length has been agreed upon and the player is healthy, the player can eventually be re-signed by the former team. Otherwise, the player won’t be able to return to the original squad during the season.
For instance, wideout Damiere Byrd was placed on injured reserve during training camp. He agreed to an undisclosed injury settlement and was released last week. When Byrd is healthy to return from his hamstring injury, he will be eligible to return to the Panthers this season.
For a player to receive an injured reserve return designation, that player needs to be on the 53-man roster beyond the cutdown deadline. This means that the team needs to carry a player (or sign a player) following the deadline to use the return designation. This rule makes it tricky for a team to hold onto an injured player on a rookie contract because the player takes up a roster spot that could be used for someone else.
If a player is placed on injured reserve with the opportunity for a return designation, the player needs to be on the list for at least four games. So, if a player has a two-week injury, the team might consider simply keeping the player on the active roster and making him inactive for two games instead of losing him for four matchups on IR.
What is a vested veteran and what are the rules for that player?
A vested veteran is an NFL player with four or more accrued seasons. These players are eligible for unrestricted free agency, and they aren’t subject to waivers ahead of the trade deadline in October.
Vested veteran status entitles a player to a guaranteed season salary if he is on a 53-man roster during the first weekend of the season. Teams can get around this rule by cutting a vested veteran during final cuts and re-signing them following Week 1. However, since the players become immediate free agents, the teams risk the players signing elsewhere with this strategy.
Since vested veterans aren’t subject to waivers, teams can tell released players that they’ll be re-signed after the cutdown deadline if they don’t sign elsewhere. Teams can use this to their advantage if they have someone they want on the injured reserve list that should have a return designation. The team can then wait out the cutdown period, place the injured player on the reserve list and then re-sign the veteran to fill the spot.
This story was originally published August 28, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
