NFL bumps up roster-cutdown deadline due to Rams-49ers game in Australia

The NFL is shifting its deadline for teams to determine their 53-man rosters from Tuesday, Sept. 1, to Sunday, Aug. 30, a league source confirmed to The Athletic on Thursday. Teams will have to submit their waiver claims by 1 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 31, rather than Wednesday, Sept. 2.

NFL owners updated the rules dictating the cutdown deadline during their spring meetings in late March. The adjustment set the deadline at 4 p.m. ET on the Tuesday following the final week of preseason games. It also, however, gave the league flexibility to adjust the policy if it interfered with scheduled international games.

“For any season in which the League office schedules an international game during the first week of the regular season,” the new language read, “the League office may adjust the procedures and related dates for the roster reduction to 53 players to accommodate travel arrangements for the participating clubs.”

This year, the San Francisco 49ers will play the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, Sept. 10, in the NFL’s first Australian game. Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan said Thursday that his team plans to leave on Wednesday, Sept. 2, and arrive at their facility Sept. 4.

That timeline conflicts with the previous waiver deadline, preventing the 49ers and Rams from making final changes before departing for their Week 1 matchup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.