The Buffalo Bills just finished their preseason schedule on Thursday night with a home win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. With that comes one of the most difficult 72 hours the organization will face all season. Like every other team, the Bills must release a large amount of players in an effort to comply with the NFL-mandated 53-man active roster requirement by 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, August 30.
To get there, Buffalo must release at least 38 players, some of whom will be subject to waivers. Should any of these players be waived this weekend, they have the potential to be claimed by another team ahead of the Bills in the waiver priority. Buffalo currently sits at 26 in the waiver wire priority.
If another team doesn’t claim waiver-eligible players released by the Bills, their contract ends and they become free agents who can return to Buffalo as part of the team’s 17-man practice squad. All claims filed for players waived during final roster reductions this weekend are processed and awarded on Monday, August 31, 2026. After that happens, NFL teams can then officially begin assembling their practice squads after the final waiver claim is completed.
What will a new coaching regime decide to do with Buffalo’s roster to begin the 2026 season? A team led by quarterback Josh Allen still cannot afford to make the wrong roster moves. The oddsmakers at FanDuel Sportsbook believe the Bills will make the right decisions, and currently list the Bills with the best odds of making the playoffs in the AFC (-330), and the second-best odds (+1000) of winning Super Bowl LXI.
Follow along below as we break down what this all means for the Bills and the rest of the NFL.
Buffalo Bills subject to 2026 NFL waiver wire
The Bills have 50 players who would enter the NFL’s waiver wire system if released at any point this season. It’s a list that includes players who are unlikely to be released, as well those players fighting for a roster spot this season.
That means one should not expect the team to unwisely expose the bulk of their most recent rookie class to waivers, as well as young players with significant starting roles like Cole Bishop, Ray Davis, Maxwell Hairston, Deone Walker, and others. Players at most risk for release often play depth roles on a team’s roster.
WR Skyler Bell
OT/OG Jude Bowry
OLB Cade Denhoff
P Tommy Doman Jr.
CB Jordan Dunbar
DL Zane Durant
LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr
OG Bruno Fina
ILB Theron Gaines
CB Davison Igbinosun
S Jalon Kilgore
WR Ja’Mori Maclin
OLB TJ Parker
CB Toriano Pride Jr.
OG Ar’maj Reed-Adams
WR Max Tomczak
CB Kani Waler
OG Da’Metrius Weatherspoon
DB Te’Cory Couch
RB Frank Gore Jr.
WR Stephen Gosnell
C Sincere Haynesworth
ILB Keonta Jenkins
TE Keleki Latu
DL Zion Logue
CB D.J. Miller
WR Quentin Skinner
ILB Jimmy Ciarlo
DL Travis Clayton (International Player Pathway)
CB Maxwell Hairston
DB Jordan Hancock
TE Jackson Hawes
DL Landon Jackson
OLB Andre Jones Jr.
OT Chase Lundt
S Wande Owens
DL T.J. Sanders
DL Deone Walker
RB Ian Wheeler
ILB Joe Andreessen
S Cole Bishop
OG Nick Broeker
DL DeWayne Carter
WR Keon Coleman
RB Ray Davis
OT/OG Tylan Grable
CB Anthony Kendall
ILB Otis Reese IV
OLB Javon Solomon
C/OG Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
What is the NFL waiver wire?
Every NFL franchise must make decisions to finalize their initial 53-man roster for the 2026 NFL season. As discussed above, some of those players enter the waiver wire protocol, while others immediately become free agents.
Players with less than four accrued seasons who are waived are subject to the waiver wire, where any team that claims them picks up their current contract. If they pass through waivers unclaimed, they become free agents and are free to sign with any team’s practice squad they choose, which includes their prior team.
The current waiver wire priority is set by the original 2026 NFL Draft order, that is the list excluding trades. Waiver claims are filed by teams at the same time, with the team holding the highest claim in the process successfully picking up the player.
Which NFL players face waivers, who becomes a free agent?
As discussed above, players with less than four years of accrued NFL experience entering 2026 enter the waiver wire protocol if released. If they pass through the system unclaimed their current contract ends, at which point they become free agents and can pick their next destination (which includes their former/most recent team’s practice squad).
Players who have four or more years of NFL service immediately become unrestricted free agents if released. Their contracts end on the day of their release, opening up the opportunity for them to sign anywhere they prefer.
Primarily, the group of players being waived is comprised of those who are currently ineligible for unrestricted free-agency status entering the season. They would instead be an Exclusive Rights Free Agent (less than three years of service) or a Restricted Free Agent (three years of service).
What is the current NFL waiver priority order?
The NFL waiver order during the preseason and the first three weeks of the regular season mirrors the 2026 NFL Draft order. Once every team in the league has played four games, it resets to the current NFL standings.
The Buffalo Bills sit at 26 in the waiver wire’s current order.
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