NFL Waiver Wire Primer

The Philadelphia Eagles trimmed their roster down to the regular season 53-player limit on Saturday afternoon but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re done with cuts just yet. The Eagles could very well make some more moves once waiver claims are revealed after 12:00 noon today on Sunday, September 1.

How it works

When a team releases a player with less than four years of service time, they are subject to the waiver process. Normally when a player is released, waivers runs the next day. For roster cuts, all players run through waivers on Sunday, whether they were released on Friday or Saturday.

The process involves a priority list ranking teams for claiming players. From the first day of the league year until the conclusion of Week 3 of the 2019 regular season, the priority is based on the previous draft order. This means that the Arizona Cardinals are the No. 1 team on the waiver priority list, while the Eagles are No. 25. If the Eagles want to take a shot on a young player, they have to put a claim in on him, and then cross their fingers and hope that the most of the league does not also put in a claim. Not going to be easy but it’s a good problem to have.

You might be used to the waiver process in your fantasy football league. The NFL waiver process is different in that the No. 1 team can claim as many players from waivers as they want, and they retain priority. The Cardinals essentially get first dibs on every player. They will stay in that position through Week 3 of the regular season.

Any player with at least four years of service that is released is NOT subject to the waiver process. They immediately become free agents and can sign with any team. This applies to several players the Eagles cut: Stefen Wisniewski, Orlando Scandrick, Eli Harold, Kasim Edebali, Hayes Pullard, and Will Tye.

The Eagles used the waiver wire after final cuts in 2018 by claiming linebacker/special teams contributor D.J. Alexander.

If the Eagles are awarded any players from waivers, they’ll need to make more cuts from their current roster to make room for the new additions.

Eagles waiver wire targets

Given that nearly 1,184 players got cut this weekend, there are a lot of available names out there. Here are just a couple names of interest.

TE Charles Scarff — The Eagles have a need for a third tight end after only keeping Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert on the 53-man roster. Scarff, who was cut by Baltimore, could be of interest since he had some nice moments during the Eagles’ joint practices with the Ravens. The Ravens are deep at tight end with Nick Boyle, Hayden Hurst, and Mark Andrews on their roster so maybe Scarff would’ve stuck around if there weren’t so many guys ahead of him.

TE Jordan Leggett — The Jets selected Leggett with a fifth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft before waiving him earlier this offseason. The 24-year-old landed was claimed by the Buccaneers and had a good preseason with Tampa Bay. Leggett logged three receptions for 39 yards and one score in addition to grading out as PFF’s 11th best blocking tight end. The 6-5, 258 pound Leggett boasts a solid athletic profile.

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Who do you want to see the Eagles claim?