Cutdown day is here, 12s, and the NFL is trimming rosters to their initial 53-man units by 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 30. While teams are saying goodbye to players, it’s also a prime opportunity to snag some new talent off the waiver wire. The kicker? Our beloved Seahawks are sitting dead last at 32nd in the initial waiver order, which means we’re at the very end of the line for any new pickups as the clock ticks towards the August 31, 1 p.m. ET waiver claim deadline.
Waiver Wire Insanity: How Does This Even Work?
Okay, so here’s the deal with this waiver wire madness. It’s actually pretty simple how they figure out the order for this initial wave of claims. It all comes down to the 2026 NFL Draft order, or what the final standings from the 2025 season, including playoffs, looked like. Even if a team traded away their first-round pick, like when the Cincinnati Bengals moved the No. 10 pick for Dexter Lawrence, they still hold that original draft position for waiver priority. So Cincinnati is still 10th on the list, even though they didn’t pick there. The Las Vegas Raiders are at the very top, getting the first crack at anyone cut loose. This order stays locked in for the first three weeks of the season, then it flips to reflect the current league standings.
The Green and Blue’s Hard Road on the Wire
Being 32nd, dead last, on the waiver wire is a gut punch, no doubt. It means we’re really relying on the roster Mike Macdonald and Brian Fleury have built already. Players with less than four accrued NFL seasons are usually subject to these waivers, so there’s always a lot of young, intriguing talent potentially available across the league. But with 31 teams ahead of us, the odds of landing someone who can make an immediate impact are incredibly slim. We’ve got Sam Darnold under center, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed, and Cooper Kupp ready to catch passes. This group needs to be rock solid and ready to perform from day one, because the waiver wire isn’t looking like a major upgrade path for us right now.
That Wild 9-9 Tie With Kansas City
And speaking of our roster, let’s talk about the game that just went down. We just finished up a wild 9-9 tie against the Kansas City Chiefs. A TIE! What a way to kick off the vibes for the regular season. This kind of nail-biting, low-scoring result just makes you wonder what Coach Macdonald is seeing from the squad early on. With our waiver wire disadvantage, it really puts the focus on the players already in the locker room, the guys like Darnold, JSN, Shaheed, and Kupp who need to step up big time from day one.
So, as the league makes its final cuts and teams scramble for last-minute additions, our Seahawks will mostly be watching what happens. The message is clear: it’s on our existing talent to prove they’re ready to compete at the highest level. We’re building this thing from within, and the Emerald City expects nothing less than full effort from the squad Macdonald and Fleury have assembled. Get ready, 12s, because this season is going to be a grind, and we’re in it together!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
Leave a Reply