NFL Roster Cuts 2014: Deadline, rules, waiver wire, practice squad, and more

The Philadelphia Eagles haven't officially announced any roster moves yet, but they unofficially have around 65 players on their roster if reports are to be believed. In any case, the Eagles will need to trim their roster down to 53 players in preparation for the 2014 NFL regular season.

Bleeding Green Nation's cut-down day coverage has already begun (follow along here). Here's some basic information on today's events.

When is the cut deadline?

All 32 NFL teams are required to be at the 53-man limit by today, Saturday, August 30th, 2014 at 4:00 PM EST.

Will that Eagles roster be the one we see next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars?

For the most part, yes, but not exactly. The Eagles still might continue to tweak the roster after the deadline depending on cuts around the league. The Eagles might claim a player on waivers, like they did with Najee Goode last year, and release one of the players that originally made the team in order to make room for him, like they did by cutting Emmanuel Acho last year. Also don't rule out trades, especially with an active trade market general manager such as Howie Roseman.

What about the practice squad?

BGN will have much more detail on the practice squad later, but for now, know that the Eagles can sign up to 10 players to a practice squad that doesn't count against the 53-man roster. These 10 players are typically young NFL players with little experience. In order to get to the practice squad, a player must clear waivers. After he clears waivers, he becomes a free agent, and then can sign with the practice squad.

The practice squad only used to hold 8 players in previous years. This year the NFL and the NFLPA agreed upon a practice squad extension that gives every team 2 extra spots. The eligibility rules for the 2 extra spots differ from the normal eligibility rules. Read here to see which Eagles player are/aren't eligible.  Note that players on the practice squad can be signed by any other team at any time. The only catch is that the team that signs him will have to keep him on their active roster for at least three weeks.

Teams can start to form their practice squad starting Sunday, August 31st.

What is the waiver wire and how does it work?

Read a full explanation of the NFL waiver wire here. In short, a cut player with less than four years of service time is placed on waivers. All 31 other teams can place a claim on the player and add him to their 53-man roster. If the player goes unclaimed through waivers, they are free to sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent. The waiver wire order is identical to the 2014 NFL Draft order, so the Eagles will have the 22nd claim on any cuts that take place. Teams with the worse records own the highest waiver claim priority.

The waiver period for the weekend ends at 12:00 PM EST on Sunday, August 31st.

What about Lane Johnson's suspension?

Johnson will NOT count against the 53-man limit while he is suspended once the Eagles place him on the reserve/suspended list. Johnson WILL count against the team's limit once he's eligible to return from suspension on September 29th, 2014.

Where can I find full coverage of the Eagles cuts?

I'm glad you asked: all you have to do is click here and check back for updates. Also don't forget to check out our general NFL cuts tracker featuring all 32 teams from around the league. We're keeping track of which players the Eagles might have interest in.