NFL Announces New Date Lions Will Set 53-Man Roster

The Detroit Lions will now have less than 24 hours to set their season-opening 53-man roster.

Per NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, the new cutdown deadline to 53 players will be Sunday, August 30, at 6 p.m. EST. In past years, the same deadline has been the following Tuesday.

It expedites the process for Detroit to make its final cuts, which plays its final preseason game the day before (Saturday, Aug. 29). The Lions will square off with Indianapolis in the aforementioned exhibition tilt. The Bears and the Titans will also conclude their respective exhibition seasons Aug. 29.

Meanwhile, the rest of the league's 32 teams will play Friday, Aug. 28, in their respective preseason finales.

As a result of the revised deadline, Detroit will likely now have a large chunk of its roster picked out prior to its contest with the Colts. And you could make the case that Dan Campbell's squad now will basically be decided after playing the Commanders in Week 2 of the preseason (Saturday, Aug. 22).

The Lions open up their preseason slate of action a week prior (Thursday, Aug. 13) against Joe Burrow and the Bengals.

Along with the news of the altered roster cutdown deadline, it was also announced that waiver claims for all 32 franchises will be due by Monday, Aug. 31, at 1 p.m. EST.

The NFL informed teams recently that this year’s cutdown deadline to 53 players will be 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 30 — not the following Tuesday, as it has been in recent years, sources say.

Waiver claims will be due at 1 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 31. The season kicks off Sept. 9. pic.twitter.com/JW2KvevG3M
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 28, 2026

This should provide Campbell & Co. an ample amount of time to pick up new players and get them acclimated to the roster prior to Week 1.

And as in past years, the Lions are bound to pick up at least a couple players after cuts are made. After last year's final round of cuts, Detroit, for instance, claimed both defensive lineman Tyler Lacy and EDGE Tyrus Wheat off waivers.

Lacy ended up appearing in 10 games for the Lions in 2025, while Wheat logged snaps in 15 games. The two defenders combined to amass 36 tackles and 2.5 sacks for defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard's unit.

Detroit kicks off its regular season Sunday, Sept. 13, against the New Orleans Saints. Kickoff of the season-opening affair is set for 1 p.m. EST at Ford Field.

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