What to Know About Detroit Lions 2026 Roster Cuts: Deadlines, Rules

Roster cutdown day has arrived for the Detroit Lions.

By 6 p.m. Sunday, the Lions along with the rest of the NFL will have to whittle their training camp roster down to its final regular season form of 53 players.

The Lions will be forced to act quickly, as their final preseason game was played on Saturday just over 24 hours before the cut deadline. Head coach Dan Campbell outlined what the next day would look like during his postgame press conference.

Campbell noted that he and general manager Brad Holmes had met on Thursday to go over their plan, as well as share where the roster stood heading into the final preseason game.

“I’m gonna check this tape out, whether it’s immediately now or I’ll wait til I get home. I will get this thing done by the end of the day, gather my own thoughts," Campbell said after Saturday's game. "Brad stayed back obviously and has been banging away on all of it, everything. We met Thursday night and kind of preliminary, ‘How do you see it?’ How do I see it? And we just kind of went through it. We’ve got a pretty good grasp minus a few spots that we were talking about that we needed to see today."

Holmes and the rest of the front office were tasked with going through the rest of the NFL to identify potential targets from other teams who may not make their respective rosters.

As has been the case in previous years of this regime, Campbell and Holmes are destined to fill both the active roster and practice squad with the most talent possible.

"He’ll watch this game like I’m going to, and then kind of come to his last thoughts. And then building the roster itself, how do we come away with the 69 players? That’s the way we’ve always viewed it," Campbell said. "I explained that to the team. We’re going to need everybody on this team, whether you’re on the roster. I understand, you want to make the roster. But yet, we’re gonna need everybody, even if you make the vet squad. He and I are gonna get together in the morning, early. I’ll get with the staff before that, then I’ll get with him. Then we’re going, we’re into making these transactions immediately."

Below is all the necessary information regarding how roster cuts work, as well as deadlines and rules for how teams can add players through waivers or free agency ahead of the start of the regular season.

Lions roster cut deadline

The Lions will be forced to cut down directly to 53 players by 6 p.m. on Sunday. Teams can make moves freely leading up to the deadline, but must have an active roster of 53 players in place by the initial deadline.

In past years, the deadline has been the Tuesday following the final preseason game. However, the NFL made the rule change shrinking the time window between the finale and final cuts beginning this season.

Detroit Lions 2026 Roster Cut Tracker

Waived versus released

When players are cut from the roster, there are different designations that will be associated with certain players. The difference lies with experience and service time that players accrue over the course of their careers.

To accrue a year of service time, a player must be on a 53-man roster or injury list for at least six games in that season. Players with three years or less of accrued time will be waived, while players with four or more years will be released.

Players who are waived are subject to the waiver wire, meaning any of the 32 NFL teams can claim them and place them on their active roster. Meanwhile, released players reach free agency immediately and can be signed by a team of their choosing.

Waiver wire and deadline

Players who are waived can be claimed by any other team before the initial waiver deadline, which is set for 1 p.m. on Monday. The Lions currently hold the 17th spot on the waiver wire this year, meaning any player they wish to add must not be claimed by the 16 teams above them in order for the Lions to land them.

To start the year, the waiver wire reflects the draft order, so the Las Vegas Raiders hold the first priority while the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks hold the 32nd and final spots.

Injury lists

The Lions have several players currently on injury lists, and there are different maneuvers they can take in order to get these players through cuts. Players placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list must miss the first four games of the season.

Currently, the Lions have two players on the PUP list in safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Should those two remain on PUP through cuts, they would be out until at least Week 5. However, a change has been made beginning this year as players on PUP can begin practicing in Week 2.

As for Injured Reserve (IR), the rules are somewhat different. NFL teams are permitted to place two players on IR with a designation to return, and those players would be eligible to return after the first four games. Those two players would not count against the initial 53-man roster.

Aside from the two players with the return designation, any players who are placed on injured reserve ahead of final cuts are out for the season. This goes for players like Payton Turner, Kendrick Law and Damone Clark, all of whom have been placed on IR already.

If the Lions have any other players besides the two players with the return designation who they wish to place on IR, those players must be a part of the initial 53-man roster and then be placed on IR after the final cuts.

Practice squad rules

Along with a 53-man roster, the Lions can compile a practice squad of up to 16 players, or 17 if one of their players is granted an International Player Pathways exemption. Of these players, up to 10 can have between zero and two years of accrued experience, while up to six can have more than that.

The Lions have utilized their practice squad heavily in the past, as Holmes has shown a willingness to sign veterans they sign to the practice squad to the active roster in the event of injuries. Additionally, the Lions frequently utilize the allotted two game day elevations on a weekly basis.

Lions final cuts trend

One trend to keep an eye on regarding the Lions in years past is a unique spin Holmes has put on it. In recent years, Holmes has carried a roster of 52 players into the initial deadline, which allows a spot for the team to be flexible and seek out veterans or waiver claims who could be of higher priority.

Add us as a preferred source on Google