Sept 1, 2026
Cutdown day gets the headlines, but the 48 hours after it tell you who a franchise really is. Florida's three NFL teams spent Monday and Tuesday proving it, and they could not have taken more different paths to Week 1.
The league's 53-man deadline passed Sunday evening, Aug. 30. Waiver claims were awarded Monday afternoon, practice squads opened at the same time, and by Tuesday, Sept. 1, the Dolphins, Jaguars, and Buccaneers were down to the finishing touches. Miami rebuilt the bottom of its roster through the waiver wire. Jacksonville stood pat and trusted its own. Tampa Bay brought its people home and plugged one glaring hole in the secondary.
Miami Dolphins: The waiver wire as a second draft
No team in the NFL worked the wire harder. Miami was awarded seven claims on Monday, the most in the league, and reshaped a roster that had been "final" for less than a day. The haul: quarterback Brady Cook from the Jets, defensive back Marcellas Dial from the Patriots, tackle Chukwuebuka Godrick from the Chiefs, tight end Justin Joly from the Broncos, tackle Jarrett Kingston from the Texans, defensive back Reese Taylor from the Broncos, and defensive back Julius Wood from the Cowboys. The Dolphins also signed defensive end Malik Herring as a free agent and released eight players to make the math work.
The practice squad came together the same afternoon. Nine players returned, including quarterback Mark Gronowski, running back Jarquez Hunter, safety Major Burns, edge Rodney McGraw, and veteran receiver Jalen Reagor. Veteran linebacker Tyrel Dodson, released over the weekend, landed on Carolina's practice squad instead.
This is a front office betting on volume and youth. Three of the seven claims are defensive backs, which says plenty about where Miami felt thin. The cost of that churn is continuity. A unit stitched together on Labor Day week has very little time to learn the calls before kickoff, and Week 1 will show whether the gamble on fresh legs beats the value of familiarity. After sending Quinn Ewers to Jacksonville on Aug. 29, Miami also enters the season with Cook as a brand new face in the quarterback room.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Confidence, by design
Jacksonville did the opposite of Miami. The Jaguars did not claim a single player on waivers and, according to the Florida Times-Union, did not even put in a claim. Part of that is arithmetic. Coming off a 13-4 season, they sat 24th in waiver priority, and only one team below them was awarded anyone. Part of it is philosophy. Liam Coen's staff built this 53 deliberately, including the Aug. 29 trade for Quinn Ewers as the backup quarterback, and saw no reason to blow it up for a long shot.
The real work happened on the practice squad. The only player Jacksonville lost on the wire was linebacker Yasir Abdullah, claimed by Atlanta, which left nearly every other cut eligible to come back. Receiver Trebor Peña returned, along with familiar names like linebackers Jalen McLeod and Jack Kiser. On Tuesday, the club added offensive lineman Eli Cox, safety Kaevon Merriweather, and tight end Hayden Rucci, releasing lineman Jimto Obidegwu to make room.
The lesson from last season drives all of it. Players such as Quintin Morris began 2025 on the practice squad and ended up on this year's active roster. The Jaguars treat the 16 spots as a development pipeline, not a parking lot, and Tuesday's adds were about protecting that pipeline at positions where an injury would hurt most.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bring them home, then fix the secondary
Tampa Bay made 38 roster moves Sunday evening, and the cuts carried real names: veteran quarterback Jake Browning was released, and 2024 draft picks Chris Braswell, Devin Culp, and Elijah Klein were waived. By Monday, a large share of that group was already back in the building. Once players cleared waivers, the Bucs re-signed 15 of their own to the practice squad, Culp among them, filling 16 of 17 available spots.
The 16th signing was the telling one. Easton Stick, released as a vested veteran by the Colts, arrives as a third quarterback with six seasons of NFL experience and a history with current Bucs coaches Zac Robinson and T.J. Yates from their time together in Atlanta. The 17th spot exists thanks to the International Player Pathway exemption for rookie tackle Paul Rubelt.
The obvious pressure point is the back end. Tampa Bay kept only eight defensive backs on the active roster when it normally carries nine or ten. The answer was to re-sign cornerback Roman Parodie and safeties Ifeatu Melifonwu, J.J. Roberts, and Rashad Wisdom, all of whom can be elevated on game days. Expect Melifonwu in particular, one of the club's best defenders this preseason, to see the field early. Todd Bowles is effectively carrying his secondary depth on the practice squad, which works until an injury forces his hand.
The verdict: Three philosophies, one state
Florida just ran a live experiment in roster building. Miami chased talent from outside and accepted the chemistry risk. Jacksonville protected the chemistry and accepted that its 53 is the 53. Tampa Bay split the difference, keeping its own developmental players close while adding one proven veteran where depth mattered.
None of these approaches is wrong. Each reflects where the team sits. A contender like Jacksonville has earned the right to trust its board. A Miami roster that is retooling has every reason to collect young upside wherever it can find it. A Tampa Bay team that knows its starters can afford to build insurance on the practice squad.
The practice squad itself is the quiet winner of this week. With 16 spots, a 17th for international players, and up to two game day elevations per week, it now functions as a true reserve roster. The players signed on Monday and Tuesday will not be forgotten names. Several of them will be on the field in September, and how well each Florida club chose them will matter more than any cut that made Sunday's headlines.
Sources
NFL roster cuts tracker: Team-by-team player moves ahead of 2026 season, NFL.com
Dolphins sign nine players to the practice squad, MiamiDolphins.com
Jaguars roster moves, Jaguars.com
Bucs address secondary depth, add third QB on first practice squad of 2026, Buccaneers.com
Jake Browning, Chris Braswell among cuts as Bucs get roster down to 53, Buccaneers.com
