The Washington Commanders have to cut their roster down to 53 players by Sunday’s 6 p.m. deadline. That means 38 players will either be released, traded, or placed on an injury list as the team prepares for the start of the season, a division game agaibst the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Washington +5.5 , 46.5 O/U
Most spots on the roster are already known, with only a few spots left to determine by depth needs a d special teams contributions. The Commanders played the Ravens last night in the preseason finale and had 41 players inactive.
If not claimed by another team, after noon on Wednesday they are eligible to be a part of Washington’s 17-man practice squad.
RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt
DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste
When a player is ‘waived’, he is subject to the waiver wire, where any team can claim him and assume his current contract. Currently, the waiver wire order (listed below) is dependent on the NFL Draft order from this past April, but without any trades.
Every team that is interested in acquiring a player will file its waiver claim at the same time, but only the team with the highest claim will successfully ‘claim’ the player and his current contract.
Whether or not a player enters the waiver wire or becomes a free agent depends on a player’s NFL service time. Six games active in a season earns a player an accrued season. Players with at least four years of accrued NFL service time are released outright. In this case, the player’s contract ends, he immediately becomes an unrestricted free agent and is eligible to sign with any team.
However, as described above, if a player has less than four years of service time, he is subject to waiver wire claims. Any player who is not claimed after being waived is eligible to sign wherever he’d like, including his former team’s practice squad.
Mainly, the group of players who get waived comprises those who are currently not eligible for unrestricted free agency status entering the year — Exclusive Rights Free Agents (less than three years of service) or Restricted Free Agents (three years of service).
The NFL waiver order during the preseason and the first three weeks of the regular season mirrors the 2026 NFL Draft order (absent trades). Once we get through three games, the waiver order resets to the current NFL standings. So, until Week 4, the Raiders have first crack at every player on waivers.
The Washington Commanders had the No. 7 pick in this year’s draft, selecting Ohio State LB Sonny Styles. They will be 7th in the waiver wire list and there will be six teams ahead of them to claim any eligible players that get released over the next month.
1. Las Vegas Raiders
2. New York Jets
3. Arizona Cardinals
4. Tennessee Titans
5. New York Giants
6. Cleveland Browns
7. **Washington Commanders**
8. New Orleans Saints
9. Kansas City Chiefs
10. Cincinnati Bengals
11. Miami Dolphins
12. Dallas Cowboys
13. Atlanta Falcons
14. Baltimore Ravens
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16. Indianapolis Colts
17. Detroit Lions
18. Minnesota Vikings
19. Carolina Panthers
20. Green Bay Packers
21. Pittsburgh Steelers
22. Los Angeles Chargers
23. Philadelphia Eagles
24. Jacksonville Jaguars
25. Chicago Bears
26. Buffalo Bills
27. San Francisco 49ers
28. Houston Texans
29. Los Angeles Rams
30. Denver Broncos
31. New England Patriots
32. Seattle Seahawks
See More:
* [Washington Commanders Free Agency](/washington-commanders-free-agency)
* [Washington Commanders Roster](/washington-commanders-roster)