Amidst COVID challenges in 2020, many teams opened camp with an 80-man roster. That's an extra 300+ players on rosters to start camp. The progressive cutdowns occur on the Tuesday after each preseason game. With only 3 preseason games, final cuts are 4 days earlier than normal.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 26, 2021
The NFL is moving back to an offseason that will involve multiple roster cuts — three to be exact. This news comes after owners met to approved of having 90-men rosters to start training camp.
The first set of cuts, which will involve a reduction of five players (putting the roster at 85), will take place on Aug. 17, three days after the Jags’ first preseason game against the Cleveland Browns. Afterward, there will be another reduction by five (moving the roster to 80 players) on Aug. 24, a day after the Jags’ second preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, which is on a Monday night.
Lastly, the final roster deduction, which will be the biggest will take place on Aug. 31, two days after the Jags’ final preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys. At that point, the rosters must be trimmed down from 80 players to the final 53.
Of course, with the Jags’ first regular season game set for Sept. 12 against the Houston Texans, the Jags will have 12 days between final cuts to get their roster right. Additionally, they will be No. 1 in the waiver wire, which will give them a chance to add some of the best players who are released during final roster cuts.