The NFL plans to stick with a new rule introduced last season related to how teams will trim their rosters ahead of their final 53-man roster cuts.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, NFL owners voted to approve roster changes for the preseason once again. Last season, owners voted to have progressive roster cuts with three different phases of cuts. First teams trim their roster from 90 to 85 players and then from 85 to 80 players. After those first two waves, they’ll the roster down to its 53-man regular-season limit.
That same type of roster reduction is coming back for the 2022 offseason, with cuts occurring every Tuesday after each of the three preseason games. Final roster cuts will take place following the final preseason game which will take place on Tuesday, August 30.
League owners approve roster changes for preseason – reductions to 85 players after the first preseason game, 80 after second game, and 53 after third game. pic.twitter.com/PntQmOHBDs
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) May 24, 2022
These changes were adopted following the 2020 offseason, which is when NFL teams had 80-man offseason rosters due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league experimented with this progressive roster trim last season and appears to have liked the results, seeing as owners approved the rules again.
With rosters trimmed to just 80 players for the final preseason game, it’ll give Chiefs HC Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach a great opportunity to evaluate some of the players who are on the roster bubble. They won’t just get more snaps in practice, but they’ll get more playtime in the preseason. Reid often uses the final preseason game as a showcase for his reserve players. With the 90-man roster as competitive as ever in Kansas City, it’s safe to expect the final preseason game to have a greater purpose in the team’s decisions on the 53-man roster.
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