Key Dates, Deadlines and Salary Cap Ramifications as Training Camp Begins

With training camps around the league opening this week – and with Ravens rookies arriving today – it’s once again time to take a look at the important upcoming NFL calendar dates that will have great significance for the building of the Ravens’ initial 2026 roster (and its Salary Cap!).

OVERVIEW

Several key factors are in effect and have already come into play:

RULE OF 51

At this time of the offseason, a team’s Salary Cap is determined by the “Rule of 51.” The Rule of 51 is in effect because team rosters now total 90 players (or more if some players have already been placed on Injured Reserve) and it would be impossible to fit all 90+ players under the Cap. As such, the league’s CBA dictates that only the highest 51 Salary Cap numbers (and all bonus prorations for players outside of the top 51 plus all dead money from players released) counts against the Cap at this time. This is the Rule of 51. RSR’s Salary Cap table illustrates how the Rule of 51 works.

WAIVERS

As Training Camp and the Preseason progress, teams will inevitably make tweaks and adjustments to their rosters. While often used interchangeably, there is actually a distinction between “releasing” a player and “waiving” a player. Players with four or more years of service time (known as “vested veterans”) are released and immediately become free agents. Players with less than four years of service time in the league (known as “non-vested veterans”) are “waived” and subject to a 24-hour waiver period. Teams must make waiver claims for such players and the player is awarded to the team with the highest waiver priority (presently based on draft order; priority will begin to be based on team records after Week 3 of the regular season). If a player goes unclaimed on waivers, he becomes a free agent. For a more detailed explanation of the Waiver rules, see here.

PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO PERFORM (PUP) LIST

Players coming off of injury or offseason surgery will often start Training Camp on PUP. This is often just precautionary and the player will return a week or two into Camp.  There are two PUP lists – “active” and “reserve.” A player on PUP can work out and rehab with the team but is prohibited from participating in team drills. In order to be removed from PUP later in training camp or prior to the beginning of the season, a player must be initially placed on “active” PUP. If the player is not ready to be activated off of PUP before the start of the season, he will be transferred to “reserve” PUP and must miss a minimum of the first four (4) games of the season. To be placed on either PUP list, the player must go on PUP at the beginning of Training Camp. Once a player has participated in a practice, he is no longer eligible for either of the PUP lists.

INJURED RESERVE/INJURY WAIVERS

A 2018 NFL By-Laws change made it no longer necessary to place non-vested veterans (players with less than 4 accrued seasons of service time) on Injury-Waivers before placing them on IR. In the past, the need for Injury Waivers caused teams to risk losing the player to a waiver claim and on occasion some teams (Patriots!) took advantage of this to poach players. As such, teams would often be forced to continue to carry the player on the 90-man roster until the final cutdown in order to not risk losing the player. The By-Law solved this issue and now vested and non-vested veterans now go directly onto IR without having to first pass through Waivers.

SPLIT CONTRACTS

Most undrafted free agents (UDFAs) and lower-round draft picks have split contracts, which means that if the player ends up on a reserve list (IR or PUP), he will receive a reduced base salary. Some veterans (vested or not) on one–year deals may also have split contracts. As an example, a rookie (later round draft picks and UDFAs) who is placed on IR will likely see his base salary reduced from $885K down to $515K.

IMPORTANT DATES

CUTDOWN TO 53

In the past, the NFL had as many as three (3) cutdown dates.  Starting in 2023, the NFL consolidated this into one (1) cutdown date whereby teams will cut down from 90 players to 53 on the active roster.  This year that date is Sunday, August 30^th.

ESTABLISHING PRACTICE SQUADS

At 1:00 p.m. on the following day – Monday, August 31^st – the waiver period for players released in the final cutdown expires. Upon receiving that day’s Personnel Notice, teams may begin signing players to their practice squads. Teams’ practice squads may consist of 16 or 17 players (17 if one of the players qualifies as an International Player). The minimum salary for most practice squad players in 2026 is $13,750 per week (or $247,500 if on the PS for the entire season), however teams are allowed to sign up to six (6) players to the Practice Squad with no limit on their service time.  Those players make either $18,350 or $22,850 per week ($330,300 or $411,300 if on the PS for the entire season).  For practice squad eligibility rules, see here.

NEW IR RULES

Starting in 2012, the NFL allowed teams to designate a player (one player) who had been placed on IR to return to the active 53-man roster later in the season. Under the prior rules, once placed on IR, a player’s season was over. In 2016, the NFL removed the need to designate a single player as “designated to return” and allowed teams to decide at any given time which player they wanted to have return from IR. In 2017, the NFL extended the ability to return from IR to a second player.

In 2022, the NFLPA and NFL agreed to allow teams to return a maximum of eight (8) players from IR, so long as the player misses a minimum of four (4) games while on IR.

Once designated to return, the player is then allowed to practice for up to twenty-one (21) days before being activated.

In 2024, the NFL again tweaked the “designated to return from IR” rules.  In the past, only players who are on the original 53-man roster before being placed on IR were eligible to return from IR.  Often, this led teams to make “wink-wink” deals with vested veterans who would be released at the final cutdown to create a roster spot for an injured player in order to maintain that player’s eligibility to return from IR later in the season.  The released veteran would then be re-signed a few days later once a roster spot opened back up after the injured player was placed on IR.  After the 2024 tweak, teams are now allowed to place two (2) players on IR on the day of the final cutdown, while designating them to returns.  So, at least for those two (2) players, the need for such “wink-wink” roster gymnastics is no longer necessary.  However, if the team has more than two (2) injured players that they hope can return later in the year, those players must be part of the initial 53-man roster and can then be placed on IR after 4:00 on Sunday, August 30^th in order to be eligible to be one of the eight (8) players who can be recalled from IR later in the season.

CAP COMPLIANCE, END OF RULE OF 51

At 12:00 a.m. on the Wednesday before the first regular season game (Sept 9^th this year), the Rule of 51 expires and teams must have all players – 53-man roster, IR, PUP, PS – fit under the Cap.  So, from that point forward, the team would have to count the 53 players on the active roster + anyone that starts the season on IR/PUP + 17 PS players under the Cap. This means that a minimum of 70 players will count against the Cap as of the beginning of the season.  But, as we know, additional Training Camp and preseason injuries are inevitable, so the number of players that will end up counting against the Cap is going to go up and, in turn, that will require additional Cap space.

The Ravens presently have $14,530,269 in Salary Cap space.  First off, there will be the two (2) players added to the Cap to go from 51 (Rule of 51) to 53.  That will be a minimum of $1.77M.  Then, there’s the 17-member Practice Squad which will take up another $4.5M or so.  The team will also need to set aside money for weekly Practice Squad elevations and carry Cap space into the season for injury replacements.  The present Cap space should be enough to cover all of those expenses, unless the injury bug hits them hard.  The good news is that the Ravens do have a bit more Cap flexibility – via restructures and/or extensions – than in past years to potentially make other moves.

The below chart breaks down these future expenses and gives examples of the restructures/extensions that are possible:

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS FACTORS

GUARANTEED SALARY FOR VESTED VETERANS

Any vested veteran (at least four years of service time) who is on the team’s 53-man roster for the first game of the season is entitled to termination pay (if he’s never received termination pay before) if he is released at any point later in the season. This means that his base salary is essentially guaranteed for the year. This is why you’ll sometimes see teams releasing back of the roster veteran prior to Week 1 and then immediately resigning them the following week. There is also an in-season termination pay that applies to vested veterans signed during the season, which essentially guarantees the player 25% of the salary they would have received if not for being released (again, if they haven’t already received termination pay).

INJURY SETTLEMENTS

Teams can work out injury settlements for players who have been placed on IR, but who aren’t expected to be injured for the entire season. This allows the team to save some cash (and Salary Cap space) and gives the player the opportunity to try and catch on with another team later in the season, instead of remaining on IR for the entire year. The amount of an injury settlement is based on the number of weeks the player is expected to be unable to practice or play.

Teams may also release a player from IR later in the season when the player has been deemed medically fit to return to playing (i.e. he must be able to pass a physical). This is essentially the same as an injury settlement as the player has already been paid while on IR, but again, it saves the team some cash and Cap and frees the player to try and find a job on another team’s active roster or PS.

IN-SEASON WAIVERS

Prior to the trade deadline, Waivers only applies to non-vested veterans (as it has since March). After the trade deadline on Tuesday, November 10^th at 4:00 p.m., though, all players – whether vested or non-vested – are subject to waivers. This presumably gives all teams an equal shot at obtaining the player via the waiver system and protects the competitive balance aspect of the waiver system (i.e. giving lesser teams an opportunity to obtain talent).

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/07/24/baltimore-ravens-salary-cap/key-dates-deadlines-and-salary-cap-ramifications-as-training-camp-begins-2/