NFL waiver process, explained | SB Nation

Tuesday was one of the toughest days on the NFL calendar.

Teams had until 4:00 p.m. Eastern to trim their rosters down to 53 players, meaning that nearly 1,000 prospective NFL players received some difficult news ahead of the deadline.

But for those players, the bad news they received on Tuesday does not mean their NFL journey is over. Many of these players are now eligible to be signed through the league’s waiver process.

Let’s dive into how that works.

What is the waiver process in the NFL?

Players that are released by teams and subject to waivers — more on that in a moment — can be signed by teams through the waiver process. This means that any one of the 32 NFL teams can claim them off waivers and, if their claim is successful, assume their current contract.

The first waiver deadline of the 2025 season comes at 12:00 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. Teams must submit their waiver claims by then, and the claims are processed at that time.

What players are subject to waivers?

This brings us to the difference between vested and non-vested players.

Vested players are those with four years of accrued NFL service time or more. These players are simply released outright and immediately become free agents, eligible to sign with a team of their choosing.

Players with less than four years of accrued NFL service time are non-vested players, and these are the players subject to waivers. When these players are cut, they are given a “waived” designation, meaning they go through the waiver process as outlined above.

Non-vested players who “pass through waivers,” meaning they were not claimed by any of the teams, become free agents and are then eligible to sign with any team. They can even sign onto the practice squad of the team that originally waived them.

Following the NFL trade deadline — which is November 5 — even vested players are subject to the waiver process.

What is the current waiver order?

For the first three weeks of the NFL season, the waiver order follows the order from the 2025 NFL Draft. That means teams with the worst records from 2024 have priority.

After the first three weeks of the season, the waiver order will reset to the current NFL standings and be adapted weekly throughout the season.

This also means that the Tennessee Titans, who selected Cam Ward with the first-overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, will have the first crack at every available player. In addition, if two different teams put in a claim on the same player, the team with the higher waiver priority will win the bid.

For example, if the Las Vegas Raiders and the New Orleans Saints put a waiver claim on the same player, the Raiders will win the bid.

Here is the waiver order for the first three weeks of the 2025 NFL season: