Cutdown day is arriving earlier this year in the NFL. To accommodate the logistics of the Week 1 matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in Australia, the league moved up the deadline to trim rosters from the Tuesday after the third preseason game, as it has been since 2021, to 6 p.m. ET Sunday.The process of getting down to the final 53-man roster typically involves various designations. Some players will be placed on injured reserve, while others may begin the season on the physically unable to perform list or the non-football injury list.This is also a time when the trade market might heat up a bit, usually involving players who aren’t household names. Teams that may be prepared to part ways with a player might engage in a deal for a low-end asset — draft pick or player — with a team that’s interested in said player but doesn’t want to go through the uncertainty of losing out on him on the waiver wire.That brings us to the most common designations for players that fall victim to cutdown day. Teams will either waive or release a player they do not want counting toward their 53-man roster. While the result is the same for the team, it means different things for the player.Let’s take a look at that difference, plus a further understanding of the waiver wire.What did we learn at the NFL special league meetings?Jonathan Jones and Johnny SweetWaived vs. releasedWhether a player is waived or released comes down to how much experience he has accrued in the NFL.Veteran players who have at least four accrued seasons are outright released. They instantly become free agents and can sign with any team. In some cases, they might even return to their own team after further post-cutdown day moves are made.The NFL defines an accrued season as spending at least six games on a team’s 53-man roster, physically unable to perform list or injured reserve.Players who are cut and have fewer than four years of NFL experience are subject to waivers. These are players who, based on their experience, would have been restricted free agents or exclusive-rights free agents in the prior offseason’s free agency. After a team waives them, they have to go through the waiver wire.Typically, the waiver wire process is 24 hours, but on cutdown day, it’s slightly shorter.Although teams began making cuts in the days leading up to the deadline, those moves aren’t official until 6 p.m. ET Sunday. Teams have until 1 p.m. ET Monday to put in claims. If a team claims a player off waivers, it inherits that player’s current contract.Tennessee Titans linebacker Dorian Mausi, claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Vikings last year, played in all 17 games for Tennessee. (Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images)If a player clears waivers, he becomes a free agent and can sign with any team, including the practice squad of the team that cut him. Teams can typically sign 16 players to the practice squad. A 17th player can be added if he’s part of the league’s International Player Pathway program.Last year, 29 players were claimed off waivers on cutdown day, with the Tennessee Titans, who were at the top of the order, picking up four players. In 2024, 27 players were claimed off waivers on cutdown day, with the Carolina Panthers, who were at the top of the order, leading the way by picking up six players. The Las Vegas Raiders top the claim order this year.How do the injury lists work?To be placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list — and thus not count against a team’s 53-player limit — players must have been placed on the active/PUP list at the start of training camp and remained there throughout.They must miss at least the first four games of the season before being activated. The same applies to the non-football injury or illness lists, which are for players with injuries or illnesses that occurred away from the team facility — including rookies injured during their college season.A new rule for the 2026 season affects players who enter the season on the PUP list. Players who begin the season with this designation must miss the first four games of the season. The rule change allows these players to start practicing with their teams after the Week 2 game, giving them a longer ramp-up period.For injured reserve, teams may designate two players on cutdown day who can return after a minimum of four games. These two players don’t have to count toward the 53-man roster initially.However, any other players that teams wish to place on IR and return after four games must initially make the 53-man roster and then be placed on IR the following day.Teams can designate up to eight players to return from IR over the course of the regular season (if a team makes the playoffs, they get two additional IR-to-return slots). Those placed on IR before or on cutdown day, and without the designation to return, are out for the season.What happens when a player is claimed?Each team must have its roster trimmed to 53 players by 6 p.m. ET Sunday. If a team trimmed its roster to fewer than 53 players and claims a player waived by another team by Monday’s deadline, it must make a corresponding move to keep its roster in compliance.Teams that claim a player must make room for that player on their 53-man roster; teams cannot claim a player and place him directly on their practice squad. The player would need to clear waivers and become a free agent to join the practice squad.Many teams go through this period without gaining a single player off waivers, or even without submitting a waiver claim. However, some teams choose to tinker with their roster through the waiver wire, which is why Sunday’s roster deadline isn’t always the best indicator of each team’s 53-man roster across the league.What if multiple teams submit a claim on the same player?The waiver claim order is fairly straightforward. Throughout the preseason and the first three weeks of the regular season, the waiver wire order is based on that year’s original NFL Draft order (meaning trades and forfeited picks are not relevant). After the first three weeks of the regular season, the waiver order is fluid, based on the standings at the time.Last year, the Titans had the No. 1 pick, so they had priority to any player waived on cutdown day. This year, the Las Vegas will have the first chance at any player who’s waived. If multiple teams submit a claim on a player, the team higher in the order is awarded the player. Here is this year’s full waiver claim order for cutdown day:1. Las Vegas Raiders