How Roster Cuts Really Work and What Really Matters for the Jaguars

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The roster cut-down day is here, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are about to make plenty of moves.

The Jaguars will have to get down to 53 players on their active roster by 6 p.m. this evening, and they have already gotten started. But how does the process of shaping the roster actually work, and what can we expect from the Jaguars over the course of Sunday? We break it down below.

From left, Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone, Executive Vice President of football operations Tony Boselli, head coach Liam Coen talk after Day 15 of NFL training camp at the Miller Electric Center on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

How the 53 Works

The Jaguars must get their roster down to 53 players on Sunday night, which means their roster (which stands at 89 players after the Quinn Ewers trade) has plenty of moves to be made. When doing so, there are a few different ways players will be taken off the roster.

Players can be either released or waived, and the designation is important in determining their next steps. If a player is released, then they are not subject to waivers and are free to sign with any other squad.

Players are released as opposed to being waived if they have at least four accrued seasons in the NFL. An accrued season is a year in which a player spends at least six games on the 53-man roster, injured reserve, or physically unable to perform list.

james gladstone — Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone, left, and Executive Vice President of football operations Tony Boselli talk during the first day of NFL Training Camp at the Miller Electric Center on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Examples for the Jaguars: Nick Mullens would be released instead of waived after the Ewers trade. He has eight accrued seasons in the NFL, thus he will not go on the waiver wire. He can sign with any team's active roster or practice squad.

In many instances, this can give a team flexibility in terms of shaping their practice squad. Some veterans can be released knowing that another team can not snatch them up and they will land back on the practice squad shortly after. Some other Jaguars who could fall into this category include Chuma Edoga, Ameer Abdullah, Tim Jones, Sam Mustipher, and Jahlani Tavai.

Players who are waived are players who are under four years of accrued seasons, so any recent draft picks, undrafted free agents, so on and so forth. The Jaguars reportedly waived Jabbar Muhammad on Sunday morning, and thus teams will now have 24 hours to claim him to their active roster. If he goes unclaimed, the Jaguars can then attempt to sign him back to their practice squad.

This means there is more of a chance of other teams taking advantage of younger players being waived, but there were only 25 waiver claims at this time last year. It happens, but not at a great frequency. Still, the Jaguars would have to consider this with guys like Bryan Thomas Jr., Zach Durfee, Yasir Abdullah, Jalen McLeod, J'Mari Taylor, and so forth.

The Jaguars are 24th in the waiver claim order, which will remain the same through the first three weeks of the season. This means if any of the 23 teams before the Jaguars place a claim on a player the Jaguars claimed, Jacksonville will not be awarded the player.

Aug 28, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen during the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The IR

Also facting into the equation is the injured reserve. The Jaguars can place two players on injured reserve.designated to return as they trim down to 53 players, which really means they get to keep 55 players. Those two players would have to miss at least four games, but could then be activated during the season and eventually return to the active roster.

The difference between injured reserve now and injured reserve during camp is that if the Jaguars placed a player on the reserve list during training camp, then they are out for the entire season, with Parker Hughes as an example.

The Jaguars have a few obvious candidates for this consideration. Offensive lineman Patrick Mekari underwent a back procedure and missed all of training camp, while linebacker Jack Kiser has been out since late-July after a knee injury on the first day of training camp. Running back LeQuint Allen could also be a potential option, though he seems less likely than Mekari and Kiser.

The Jaguars have some tough decisions to make over the course of Sunday. There are several different directions they can go, and there are a few different roster tools they can use to ensure they put together the best 53-man roster and practice squad possible. Today will determine the first form of the active roster, but it will not be the final one. It is a fluid process with several moving pieces, and today is merely the first day the Jaguars will navigate it.

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