NFL roster cuts are going to look different this year

One of the big news items to emerge from Wednesday’s virtual NFL owners' meeting is a new change to NFL roster cuts.

For years, teams were required to trim their 90-man offseason roster down to 75 players right before the final preseason game. That procedure changed in 2017, when the league allowed teams to cut straight from 90 to 53 ahead of Week 1. The NFL then only allowed 80 players on offseason rosters in training camp last year due to COVID-19 concerns.

Now the NFL is returning to multiple rounds of cuts. Here’s the schedule:

Tuesday, August 17 — Cut down from 90 to 85 players

Tuesday, August 24 — Cut down from 85 to 80 players

Tuesday, August 31 — Cut down from 80 to 53 players

The progressive cuts occur several days after each of the three preseason games (Eagles play on August 12th, 19th, and final game TBD).

And whereas the cut down to 53 used to take place eight days (the Saturday before Labor Day) before the first regular season Sunday, now it takes place 12 days before that. The extra cushion gives players more time to catch on and adapt to new teams.

So, just something to remember as we discuss roster cuts later this summer.

In other league news, Dan Graziano reports the NFL and NFLPA have reportedly agreed to a salary cap ceiling of $208.2 million for the 2022 season. That’s $5.2 million more than Over The Cap had been projecting, which currently puts the Eagles at around $21.8 million in cap space next year. That figure ranks 18th out of 32 teams.

The Eagles won’t have as much as other teams who might want to spend aggressively but they should have enough flexibility for a big splash or two.