Roster cuts, practice squad, PUP list and waivers rules

Each NFL club is allowed to carry 53 players on their roster during the regular season. Leading up to training camp, rosters are expanded to 80 players to allow teams to evaluate rookies and free agents.

After each team has trimmed their roster to 53 players, they can begin signing players to their 8-man practice squad. However, before teams can sign these non-roster players to their practice squad, they must first go through waivers.

There's also what's called a PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) List that can be used by NFL clubs to protect injured players from being signed by other clubs. Roster cuts and practice squad rules Each club is allowed 80 players on their offseason roster heading into training camp. In the third week of the preseason, teams are required to trim their roster to 75 players. Prior to the beginning of the regular season, a second and final cut establishes teams' 53-man roster.

Teams are allowed to make changes to their 53-man roster throughout the season.

The NFL allows teams to keep up to eight players on their practice squad (sometimes referred to as a taxi squad or scout team) throughout the season. The players on the practice squad are usually rookies or players that have been unable to make an NFL roster.

Before a team can sign a player that was in their training camp to their practice squad, he must first clear waivers. Every player who didn't make the 53-man roster must be given the opportunity to sign with another team.

To be eligible for the practice squad, a player must have less than one year of accrued playing time in the NFL or was on a 53-man roster for 9 games or less. A player can be placed on the practice squad for two seasons. A third season is allowed if the player's team has a full 53-man roster throughout the time he spent on the practice squad.

Practice squad players practice with the 53-man roster players during the week but are not allowed to participate in games.

The minimum salary for a practice squad player is $5,700 per week or $96,900 for a 17-week season. Teams are allowed to pay their practice squad players more than the minimum and have done so frequently.

However, this practice may come to an abrupt end now that practice squad salaries count toward the salary cap.

Practice squad players are free to negotiate contracts with any other NFL club as long as that team places him on their 53-man roster. Once signed, the player will receive a guaranteed minimum salary for three weeks even if he is released. PUP List There are two "PUP" or "Physically Unable to Perform" lists that NFL clubs have at their disposal: Active PUP and Reserve PUP.

The Active PUP list is for players that are unable to practice during training camp due to injury. A player must be placed on the Active Pup list prior to the start of training camp.

Players placed on the Active PUP list cannot practice with the team but are allowed to rehabilitate their injury and participate in team meetings. They also count toward the 80-man roster limit.

Any player on the Active PUP list can be transferred to the active roster at any time.

If a player is still unable to practice at the conclusion of preseason, he can be moved to the Reserve PUP list where he will remain ineligible for six weeks.

Players on Reserve PUP do not count toward the 53-man roster.

After Week 6, players on Reserve PUP have a 3-week window to begin practicing with the team. During this time, the team must either place the player on the 53-man roster or move him to injured reserve (IR).

If the player is moved to IR, he is ineligible for the remainder of the season and cannot practice. He can however travel with the team and participate in team meetings. Waivers Once a player is released by an NFL club, he enters the waiver wire and is eligible to sign with the first team to select him.

The team with the first right of refusal follows the draft selection order, which means the team with the worst regular season record has the first chance to sign the player and the Super Bowl winner the last.

If a team claims a player off the waiver wire, he must be placed on the 53-man roster. Teams cannot sign players off the waiver wire and place them on their practice squad.

Only players with four years or less of NFL experience enter the waiver wire. Players with more than four accrued years become unrestricted free agents and can sign with any club without compensation to their former team.

Teams have 24 hours during the season (several days during the offseason) to claim a player on waivers.

If a player is not claimed by any team, he immediately becomes a free agent and can sign with any club. When you hear or read a report that states a player has "cleared" waivers, it means no NFL team decided to claim him after he was released.