Updated Monday, August 31, 2026 — waivers processed at 1:00 p.m. ET
The wire has cleared. Twenty-eight players were claimed out of roughly 1,100 who hit the street on Sunday, which means the overwhelming majority went unclaimed — and that's where the fantasy story actually is.
Because the two names everyone was watching both cleared.
🚨 Jaydon Blue Cleared Waivers
The most surprising cut of the weekend went completely unclaimed. Not one of the 31 other teams spent a priority on him.
That's a genuinely revealing outcome. Blue is 22, a 2025 fifth-round pick, and he led Dallas with 15 carries for 75 yards against Arizona before finishing the preseason with 23 carries for a team-high 94 yards. A young back on a cheap rookie deal is exactly the profile that normally gets claimed.
He didn't. Which tells you the league saw what Dallas saw — the fumbling that followed him through camp — and that Malik Davis won the RB2 job on merit, not by default.
What happens now: Blue is a free agent and eligible for any practice squad. Dallas can bring him straight back, and given his speed and the fact that they know him best, that's the likeliest outcome.
Fantasy impact: 🟠 Dynasty hold, redraft drop. A practice-squad back is not a fantasy asset. But he's one injury from relevance, and practice-squad players can be elevated on game day — so he stays on a watch list, not a roster.
🏈 Will Levis Also Cleared — And He's A Free Agent Now
Tennessee waived him rather than releasing him, because with three accrued seasons he was still subject to the wire. Nobody claimed him.
Which means the 33rd overall pick from 2023 is now free to sign anywhere, on his own terms, rather than being assigned to whichever team held the higher priority. For a quarterback looking for a path to playing time, clearing is arguably the better outcome — he gets to pick.
Fantasy impact: 🟡 Superflex and dynasty watch. Nothing to do until he signs. Then the landing spot decides everything.
💰 The Names That Hit The Wire
Worth knowing who was actually available, because it tells you how much talent moves on a single Monday: Taylor Rapp, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Elandon Roberts, Evan Neal, Cedric Tillman, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Emmanuel Ogbah, Trey Benson, Jaydon Blue and Jake Browning.
Trey Benson is the one fantasy managers should note. Arizona drafting Jeremiyah Love third overall in the 2026 draft made him expendable — which is the cleanest illustration there is of the point that opportunity, not talent, decides fantasy value. Check the Cardinals depth chart before you spend a pick on anybody in that backfield.
📋 Every Claim, Team By Team
Miami Dolphins (7) — QB Brady Cook (Jets), DB Marcellas Dial (Patriots), OT Chukwuebuka Godrick (Chiefs), TE Justin Joly (Broncos), OT Jarrett Kingston (Texans), DB Reese Taylor (Broncos), DB Julius Wood (Cowboys)
Atlanta Falcons (3) — LB Yasir Abdullah (Jaguars), LB Jared Ivey (Seahawks), OT Cameron Williams (Eagles)
Tennessee Titans (3) — LB Owen Pappoe (Cardinals), DB Melvin Smith Jr. (Chiefs), DT Nazir Stackhouse (Packers)
Kansas City Chiefs (2) — DT Bryson Eason (49ers), LB Jack Pyburn (Buccaneers)
Minnesota Vikings (2) — G Trevor Keegan (Cowboys), C Nick Samac (Panthers)
New England Patriots (2) — TE Cameron Latu (Eagles), LB Darius Muasau (Giants)
New Orleans Saints (2) — T Mason Murphy (Bears), DT Colby Wooden (Colts)
New York Jets (2) — K Blake Grupe (Colts), LB Trevin Wallace (Panthers)
Single claims: Carolina — C Corey Bullock (Ravens) · Cincinnati — OT Myles Hinton (Eagles) · Cleveland — DB Toriano Pride Jr. (Bills) · Dallas — RB Emari Demercado (Chiefs) · Indianapolis — DB Kapena Gushiken (Eagles) · Las Vegas — DB Darrell Luter Jr. (49ers)
The one that matters for fantasy
Dallas claimed running back Emari Demercado from Kansas City — the direct replacement for Blue. That's a depth move behind Javonte Williams and Malik Davis, not a threat to either, but it confirms the shape of the room: Williams starting, Davis as the handcuff, Demercado as insurance.
And note the Patriots claiming Darius Muasau from the Giants, reuniting him with defensive staffer Shane Bowen — a reminder that claims are frequently about a coach who already knows the player.
📊 The 2026 Waiver Order (Weeks 1–3)
Priority mirrors the 2026 NFL Draft order — the true order from April, meaning trades don't change where a team sits.
1. Raiders · 2. Jets · 3. Cardinals · 4. Titans · 5. Giants · 6. Browns · 7. Commanders · 8. Saints · 9. Chiefs · 10. Bengals · 11. Dolphins · 12. Cowboys · 13. Falcons · 14. Ravens · 15. Buccaneers · 16. Colts
17. Lions · 18. Vikings · 19. Panthers · 20. Packers · 21. Steelers · 22. Chargers · 23. Eagles · 24. Jaguars · 25. Bears · 26. Bills · 27. Texans · 28. 49ers · 29. Rams · 30. Broncos · 31. Patriots · 32. Seahawks
Starting in Week 4, the order flips to reverse standings. Which is why a bad team's in-season claim is worth more than a good team's, and why the same waiver add is easier for some rosters than others all year.
💡 The Rules That Decide Everything
Fewer than four accrued seasons → subject to waivers. Any team can claim, in priority order.
Four or more accrued seasons → released outright and a free agent immediately. No wire, signs anywhere, that day.
A claim includes the contract. Which is why cheap rookie-deal players get claimed and anyone carrying real guaranteed money usually clears — clubs are claiming contracts as much as players. That single fact explains most of what happened today.
A claimed player goes straight to the 53, so a full roster means a corresponding cut. Every claim above created another release somewhere.
🏗️ Practice Squads: The Part Most Coverage Gets Wrong
Signing began once claims processed, and the roster math is more generous than people assume.
Each team carries 16 practice squad players — plus a 17th if they use an International Player Pathway exemption. That's roughly 512 jobs league-wide, filled mostly by men who were cut on Sunday and cleared today.
Within those spots:
- 10 for players with fewer than two accrued seasons
- 6 reserved for veterans — and this is the modern change worth knowing: there's no cap on how many seasons those six have played. A ten-year veteran can sit on a practice squad
- 1 International Player Pathway spot
Why practice squad ≠ irrelevant
This is where fantasy managers throw away useful information.
Each team can elevate two practice-squad players per game day, and any individual player can be elevated three times per season. After the game he reverts to the squad. No roster move required.
So a practice-squad running back on a team that loses its starter is immediately available — no signing, no waiver claim, no waiting. He plays Sunday.
And rival clubs can sign a practice-squad player directly to their own active roster at any time. Nothing about that group is locked down.
Most players who clear waivers re-sign with their original club, usually within a day — which is exactly why Blue landing back in Dallas is the safe bet.
How To Work This Week
The roster churn between now and Week 1 is the last free information of the preseason.
The Transaction Wire — every claim, signing, release and IR move with filters, refreshed every fifteen minutes, and each item linked straight to the team page, depth chart, roster and player card it just changed. A transaction on its own is trivia; a transaction next to the depth chart it altered is information.
The Free Agent Wire for who's genuinely available now, and Sleepers for whose opportunity just grew because somebody ahead of them got cut.
The player wire carries player items only — no team marketing, no ticket promos — and the injury report starts its weekly rhythm on Wednesday.
Already drafted?
Import your team and the Roster Doctor regrades everyone you own against today's rosters. Start or Sit for the close calls and the trade analyzer for the deal somebody just floated in your group chat.
Still drafting?
Plenty of leagues go this week. The 2026 Guide runs 335 deep with tiers drawn where the market breaks, the Big Board is live and sortable, and the December Board grades every player on Weeks 15 through 17 — the weeks that actually decide your league, and the ones nobody in your room will check.
The Takeaway
Twenty-eight claims out of eleven hundred available players is a reminder of how narrow the market really is. Teams claim contracts as much as they claim players, and a cheap rookie deal is worth more on the wire than a recognisable name with guaranteed money attached.
Which is why the useful reaction to a cut is never "is he good?" It's "where does he land, and what does he cost?"
Week 1 opens Wednesday, September 9. Our call on all sixteen games is up in the Week 1 guide, and every one gets graded afterwards on the public ledger.
Practice squads are still filling. Confirm any move before you act on it.
