Dallas Cowboys roster cuts tracker 2024: Monitoring every move as team gets to 53 players

Mauricio Rodriguez — Dallas Cowboys News Writer

Aug 24, 2024 8:48 PM EDT

Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Viliami Fehoko (93) is blocked by Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood (67) in the second quarter at AT&T Stadium. Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Cowboys preseason is over and that means it's time to monitor roster cuts.

The Cowboys will be trimming down the roster from 91 players to 53 ahead of Tuesday's cutdown day, when teams must be at the key number by 4:00 p.m. ET.

We're keeping tabs of the cuts made by the Cowboys following the preseason finale in this article as well as covering some of the key rules and details of NFL roster cuts that you need to know. Let's dive in.

2024 NFL roster cuts important details:

Rosters must be reduced to 53 players virtually all at once. The team has several different transactions they can use to make that happen. Here are the terms you need to familiarize yourself with:

Released: When a vested veteran (those who have accrued four seasons in the NFL) is cut from a team. These players are not required to pass through waivers and can immediately become unrestricted free agents.
Waived: Players who have not accrued four seasons in the NFL are waived instead of being released. 31 NFL teams will have a chance to claim waived players on their 53-man roster by 12:00 p.m. ET on August 28. If players are not claimed on waivers, they become unrestricted free agents. Waiver priority this time of year is determined by team records from the previous season.
Waived/injured: If these players clear waivers they will revert to the Cowboys’ injured reserve list. They can opt to spend the season in Dallas on IR or reach an injury settlement with the team.
Injured reserve: Thanks to a recent NFL rule amendment, two players can be placed on IR on the day of final cuts (Tuesday) and be designated to return. Teams still have the option to carry injured players on the 53-man roster to place them on IR later.
Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list: Players on the Active/PUP list can be placed on the Reserve/PUP list in a move to get the roster down to 53 players. Players who are moved to the Reserve/PUP list do not count against the 53-man roster. They can attend team meetings, and use team facilities for rehab, but are not allowed to practice for four weeks. After four weeks, another 21-day window opens up, where the player can practice and be activated. If they’re not activated in those 21 days, they must be placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season.
Reserve/Non-football injury/illness (NFI) lists: Players placed on either Reserve/NFI lists have to go through the same process as players on the Reserve/PUP list. They do not count toward the 53-man roster. They can go to team meetings and use facilities for rehab, but they’re not allowed to participate in practice for four weeks. After that, a four-week period opens where they can return to practice and the team can choose to activate the player. If the player isn’t activated at the end of the second four-week period, they’ll remain on injured reserve for the rest of the season. The big difference between the NFI and PUP lists is that teams can withhold a portion of a player’s salary if they’re placed on the NFI lists.
Reserve/Suspended list: Players who are placed on the Reserve/Suspended list have to serve out an NFL suspension. Players on this list do not count toward 53-man roster limits and are not paid their base salary.
Reserve/Did Not Report list: Players who are placed on the Reserve/Did Not Report list have left their team. CeeDee Lamb is on such list amid his contract holdout.
Reserve/Retired list: Players who are placed on this list have retired from the NFL.

NFL Practice squad rules:

After the claiming period has ended at 12:00 ET on Wednesday, Aug. 28, teams are permitted to assemble their 16-man practice squads. Below are the rules on who can be signed to the practice squad:

Players who do not have an accrued season (I.E. rookies).
Players who were on the active roster for fewer than nine regular-season games during their only accrued season(s).
Up to four players per team with no more than two accrued seasons.
Up to six players per team with no accrued season limitations (I.E. vested veterans).