The Jacksonville Jaguars must have their initial 53-man roster set by 4:00 PM ET on Tuesday. However, they’ll also be keeping their eyes on the rest of the NFL, specifically, which players are released by other teams.
It’s during the roster cutdown period that we see many teams attempt to bolster their depth at certain positions by adding a player whom another organization released.
One position in particular with the Jaguars that we should keep our eyes on is wide receiver, given some recent news around the Broncos-Saints Devaughn Vele trade.
How do waiver claims during roster cutdowns work?
Players who have fewer than four years of accrued NFL service are subject to waivers. Players with four-plus years of NFL experience become free agents and can sign where they please right away.
As it pertains to the waiver system, once a player is on waivers, teams are then able to put in a claim until 12:00 PM ET on Wednesday–the day after roster cutdowns.
If only one team puts in a claim on a player, then that is where the player ends up. However, if two or more teams put in a claim on a single player, the waiver wire priority list determines who gets that player.
During this time of the year, waiver wire priority mirrors the 2025 NFL draft order.
So, for example, if the Jaguars and the Bears put in a waiver claim on the same player, that player would end up with the Jaguars because Jacksonville is sixth in waiver priority while Chicago is 10th.
If a released player goes unclaimed and doesn’t end up on waivers, they then become a free agent and can choose where they sign.
2025 Waiver wire priority list during roster cutdowns
- 1) Tennessee Titans
- 2) Cleveland Browns
- 3) New York Giants
- 4) New England Patriots
- 5) Jacksonville Jaguars
- 6) Las Vegas Raiders
- 7) New York Jets
- 8) Carolina Panthers
- 9) New Orleans Saints
- 10) Chicago Bears
- 11) San Francisco 49ers
- 12) Dallas Cowboys
- 13) Miami Dolphins
- 14) Indianapolis Colts
- 15) Atlanta Falcons
- 16) Arizona Cardinals
- 17) Cincinnati Bengals
- 18) Seattle Seahawks
- 19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 20) Denver Broncos
- 21) Pittsburgh Steelers
- 22) Los Angeles Chargers
- 23) Green Bay Packers
- 24) Minnesota Vikings
- 25) Houston Texans
- 26) Los Angeles Rams
- 27) Baltimore Ravens
- 28) Detroit Lions
- 29) Washington Commanders
- 30) Buffalo Bills
- 31) Kansas City Chiefs
- 32) Philadelphia Eagles
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: 2025 NFL waiver wire priority: Jaguars near top; can add to roster