The Denver Broncos have their work cut out for them ahead of the 2 p.m. MT deadline on Tuesday, August 26. General manager George Paton and the front office have until then to reduce their roster from 90 to 53 players. We will be updating this live as the front office is expected to announce a flurry of roster moves over the upcoming days. Make sure to continue to revisit to see the updated list.

Waived

• WR Joaquin Davis
• CB Micah Abraham
• G Clay Webb
• OLB Garrett Nelson
• OL Xavier Truss
• DT Michael Dwumfour
• WR Jerjuan Newton
• RB Audric Estime
• CB Damarri Mathis
• RB Blake Watson
• WR Kyrese Rowan
• OL Marques Cox
• OL Will Sherman
• WR Michael Bandy
• S Delarrin Turner-Yell
• C/G Joe Michalski
• OLB Andrew Farmer
• WR Courtney Jackson
• CB Quinton Newsome
• CB Jaden Robinson
• CB Reese Taylor
• WR A.T. Perry
• ILB Levelle Bailey
• ILB Jordan Turner
• S Keidron Smith
• TE Caden Prieskorn
• DL Jordan Miller
• S Keidron Smith
• TE Caleb Lohner

Released

• S Sam Franklin Jr.
• OL Calvin Throckmorton
• FB Adam Prentice
• QB Sam Ehlinger
• ILB Garret Wallow

Waived/injured

• CB Joshua Pickett (injury settlement)
• DL Kristian Williams

Injured Reserve (IR)

• G Nick Gargiulo (season-ending, before cutdown day)
• DE Matt Henningsen (season-ending, before cutdown day)
• LB Johnny Walker Jr. (season-ending, before cutdown day)
• FB Michael Burton (season-ending)
• LB Drew Sanders (Designated for Return)

Physically Unable to Perform (PUP)/Non-Football Injury/Illness (NI)

• Nobody

We will continue to provide updates throughout the weekend when more moves are made.

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There is more than one way to reduce a roster. The official designations are: released, waived, waived/injured, injured reserve, physically unable to perform, non-football injury/illness, suspended list, commissioner exempt list, reserve/did not report, and the rare reserve/other. To better understand why a player might’ve been cut, let’s break down what these terms mean. Some of these designations won’t apply to all teams, but it’s important context nevertheless.

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Waived: This applies to players who have fewer than four accrued seasons in the NFL. If a player is designated with this tag, they then go on the waiver wire for 24 hours. Other teams can claim those players in order of waiver priority, which is in reverse order of last year’s standings. If a player is unclaimed, they become free agents and can sign with any team, which includes going back to their original team, and in some cases, sign to the practice squad.

Released: This applies to vested veterans who are players with four or more accrued seasons. If they are released, their contracts are terminated, and they immediately become free agents and aren’t subject to waivers. After the trade deadline in late October, all players, even vested veterans, are subject to waivers.

Waived/injured: Applied to younger players, not vested veterans, who are injured but also being cut. Just like when a player is waived, they go on waivers with an “injured” designation. If another team were to claim that player, they would take on the contract and the injury responsibility. If unclaimed, they revert to the original team’s injured reserve, normally ending their season unless an injury settlement can be reached. If a player reverts to IR and then takes an injury settlement, he cannot re-sign with his original team until three weeks plus the length of the settlement have passed.

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Injured Reserve (IR): Context is important. If a player is placed on injured reserve before cutdown day, their season is over. If the player is moved to IR after making the 53-man roster, he must miss at least four games but then can be designated to return. That begins a 21-day practice window for the team to decide whether or not to put him back on the active roster. If unable to be activated in the timeframe, his season is finished with that team unless he’s waived off IR with a settlement. Other teams can re-sign him after the settlement waiting period of three weeks, plus the length of the settlement. While on IR, the player does not count toward the 53-man roster. Recent ruling changes allow the number of players a team can return from IR: eight return designations in the regular season, and two additional return designations if the team makes the postseason. Another rule change allows teams to designate two players directly on IR at final cutdowns; this is referred to as designated to return. They count against the season limit each team has of eight, or ten if postseason.

Physically Unable to Perform (PUP): This is the designation for players who got hurt before camp and haven’t practiced. They can come off anytime and join practice. However, if a player is still on PUP at final cuts, he then moves to reserve/PUP. From there, the player must miss at least the first four games, then the team can activate the player by clearing them to practice, which opens a 21-day practice window at any point thereafter. If the player is unable to be activated during that 21-day window, he remains on the PUP for the rest of the season. The distinction between IR and PUP is that for PUP, the player was never eligible to practice during camp.

Non-Football Injury/Illness (NFI): This designation doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. It’s for an injury that happened outside of NFL activities. When a player is placed on the non-football injury/illness list, they don’t count toward the team’s 53-man roster. However, it also means that the team isn’t required to pay the player’s salary. However, many still do either fully or partially. Another wrinkle is that players placed on Reserve/NFI at cutdown must miss the first four games of the regular season. After four weeks, a player can be designated to return. Once he begins practicing, the 21-day activation window opens.

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Suspended List: This designation is for a player suspended by the league or by the team for conduct, PEDs, or gambling to name a few. They do not count toward the team’s 53-man roster. However, once the suspension has ended and they can return to football, the team must make a corresponding roster move to activate them.

Commissioner Exempt List: This is used sparingly and is found in rare cases when a player is under investigation by the NFL. During this time, the player is on paid leave, but doesn’t count toward the 53-man roster. Players can be present at the facility with club permissions, but can’t practice or play. It lasts until the NFL makes a ruling.

Reserve/Did Not Report: This is designated for a player who never reported to camp. In most cases, this is because of a holdout over a contract dispute or personal reasons. While the team controls the player’s rights, he doesn’t count against the 53-man roster.

Reserve/Other: This is a rare designation, but known as reserved for several miscellaneous reasons. While rarely used, you could see this being used if a player leaves to fight in the military or if a player just leaves outright. Again, these players do not count against the 53-man roster. The team still holds the rights to that player.

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