After a preseason showdown against the Cleveland Browns, the New England Patriots will begin cutting down their 90-man roster. The team needs to make 37 moves ahead of the NFL’s deadline on Sunday, Aug. 30, at 6 p.m. ET. A majority of those personnel changes will come through the most straightforward roster reduction method: cutting players.
However, not all 37 transactions will be the same. The NFL has separate protocols for so-called vested veterans and players with less league experience. Veterans immediately enter the open market as free agents after being released, while the latter must pass through the waiver wire, where they can be claimed by another franchise or enter free agency if unclaimed.
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What exactly does all of this mean for the Patriots and the NFL’s other 31 teams, though? Let’s break it down.
What is the NFL waiver wire?
Franchises will make their final preparations before the season, with substantial changes being made to league rosters. Players will either be waived or released, but not all will instantly become free agents and be free to sign with any team.
When a player is “waived,” they are subject to the waiver wire, where any team can claim them and assume their current contract. Currently, the waiver wire order is dependent on the NFL Draft order from this past April, but without any trades.
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Teams file waiver claims at the same time. That being said, only the team with the highest claim in the order will successfully pick up the player and their current contract.
Which NFL players are subject to go on waivers and not be released?
A player’s time in the NFL determines whether they enter the waiver wire or become a free agent. Players with at least four years of accrued NFL service time are released. If a player is released, their contract has ended, and they are eligible to sign with any team.
However, if a player has less than four years of service time, they are waived and subject to waiver wire claims. Any player who is not claimed after being waived is eligible to sign wherever they’d like, including their former team’s practice squad.
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The group of players being waived primarily consists of those who are not currently eligible for unrestricted free agency status entering the season. They would instead be either an exclusive rights free agent (less than three years of service) or a restricted free agent (three years of service).
Which Patriots cuts are subject to waivers?
In total, 40 of the Patriots’ depth players (not including starters and primary backups, or “roster locks”) will first have to pass through the waiver wire, where they might get claimed by any NFL team, before entering the open market.
Which Patriots cuts are not subject to waivers?
Seven of New England’s depth players are vested veterans. If released, they would become free agents as soon as the respective moves were made official, meaning that they would all be free to sign with any team of their choosing.
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What is the NFL waiver order right now?
The NFL waiver order during the preseason and the first three weeks of the regular season mirrors the 2026 NFL Draft order. Once we get through four games, it resets to the current NFL standings. So, the Las Vegas Raiders have the first crack at every player on waivers.
How does the NFL waiver system work?
Let’s assume the 31st-ranked Patriots and 32nd-ranked Seahawks are the two teams to place a claim for a player. He will end up in New England due to the organization’s superior ranking. The team with the lowest bid will always end up with the player.
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Teams can add as many players through waivers as they want, but they might have to make corresponding roster moves to fit them on their 53-man team and/or under the salary cap.
Have the Patriots made any moves yet?
In order to stay on top of every transaction involving the Patriots’ roster cutdowns on Sunday, ahead of the waiver claim deadline on Monday, make sure to regularly visit our Patriots roster cut tracker.
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