Now that the preseason is in the books, this milestone on the calendar requires every club in the league to trim the fat from a bloated 90-man offseason roster and whittle it down to their initial 53-man unit as they gear up for the 2026 regular season. Teams are required to get to the 53-man threshold by 6 p.m. Given the assignment, there will, of course, be a lot of subtraction across the NFL.
That said, this is also a period where teams make acquisitions. One avenue for that comes via the waiver wire. Once cut loose by their current teams, those players subject to waivers will be available for claim by any other franchise.
This initial wave will occur until 1 p.m. During that time, teams may make claims on players, and depending on where they stand in the waiver-wire order, they'll either be awarded their top option or their secondary priority (if they have one). Below, we'll provide an explainer of the waiver-wire process, along with the exact order for this go-around, while also distinguishing which players are not subject to waivers and could end up on practice squads.
It's pretty simple, actually. The initial waiver wire order is determined by the 2026 NFL Draft order, or the final overall standings from the 2025 season (including playoffs). One thing worth noting is that it's the true draft order from this spring, meaning that even if your team traded its first-round pick and moved around the board during last April's draft, where they initially held position is where they stand in waivers.
For example, the Cincinnati Bengals traded the No. 10 overall pick to the New York Giants for Dexter Lawrence. Despite not picking 10th when the draft actually began, the Bengals still have the 10th priority on waivers. Conversely, the Giants don't have multiple waiver claims.
This order will remain throughout the first three weeks of the season. After that, the order will align with the current overall league standings. If a player has less than four accrued seasons played in the NFL, they will more often than not be subject to waivers.
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