The preseason and training camp are over for the Cincinnati Bengals. With final roster cuts coming, the Bengals will place several players on waivers and could potentially snag other players from the waiver wire. Teams will have until Sunday, August 30th to trim their final rosters to 53 players.
How the NFL waiver wire works
Preseason & First 3 Weeks: The priority follows the previous April’s draft order. For example, the Bengals picked 10th in the 2026 NFL Draft, so they currently sit 10th on the waiver wire.
After Week 3: Once
every team has played four regular-season games, the waiver wire order changes, placing teams in order by record. So the team with the worst record at that point will be at the top of the order, with the best record last.
Eligibility: Players with less than four accrued seasons in the NFL are subject to waivers upon release. Players with over four seasons in the league are immediately free agents and can sign with any team.
When a team claims a player, they absorb all of the contract that player had with their previous team.
Teams will typically have 24 hours to claim a player once they are waived. If the player does not get picked up in the allotted timeframe, they will become an unrestricted free agent.
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The Bengals aren’t historically active on the waiver wire, but with questions at backup offensive tackle, they could have their eye on the transactions around the league. Some think the Bengals should look for a third running back as well.
Time will tell what final cuts will look like for the Bengals and how active they could be with waived players. With all eyes on the September 13th opener, the team should be looking to improve the roster however they can.
