National Football League

Rosters must be down to 80 by Aug. 30

Published Aug. 19, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The NFL informed all 32 teams on Friday they need to reduce their rosters to 80 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 30.

The league had considered allowing teams to keep their rosters at 90 until Sept. 3, when they have to cut them to 53.

That would have flooded the open market with nearly 1,200 players, the vast majority of whom would have been subject to the waiver wire, forcing teams to scramble for an unprecedented deluge of talent.

Usually, the first cut is to 75 players. So, as teams continue to play catch-up from the long lockout, they'll get to take a closer look at a handful of extra players during the final preseason weekend before trimming their rosters to the regular season limit.