Bears set as No. 25 in NFL waiver claim order as preseason roster reductions conclude

The NFL’s waiver wire cycle is about timing as much as it is about roster building. When the 2026 preseason wraps, teams must reduce offseason rosters from 90 players down to 53 active players for the regular season, and the league’s waiver claim order helps determine which teams get the first look at the players released or cut in that window.

According to a breakdown from Yahoo Sports, the deadline to complete those roster reductions is 5:00 p.m. CT on Sunday. Even before that cutoff, teams are expected to begin trimming their rosters and working through their final decisions, which means transaction activity can accelerate quickly once the last preseason game(s) end.

For the Chicago Bears, the timing carries additional importance because they are described as being 25th in the waiver claim order. In practical terms, that slot affects the sequence in which teams can submit claims on players who become available, before the rest of the league gets a chance to reach them.

The same Yahoo Sports report also notes that the Chicago Bears and the Tennessee Titans were the final two teams playing this preseason. That matters because teams typically work to avoid carrying extra bodies into the final hours, and the last games can shift when specific releases happen, which in turn can shift when claims begin piling up for players at the same positions across the league.

Understanding the waiver wire process is not just a football trivia exercise. It functions like a mechanism for turning final roster cuts into a controlled redistribution of players. Rather than each club simply signing freely after releases, the waiver system establishes a defined process for claims that can reward teams with earlier priority and offer protection to players and franchises that are active and prepared when rosters drop.

For Chicago, being slotted at No. 25 does not eliminate the chance to find immediate help. But it does mean the Bears may need to be more selective and disciplined in how they evaluate the fringe options that emerge at the end of the preseason, because many claims could be made by the time Chicago’s turn comes in the order.

What to watch next is the pace and pattern of cuts and claims after the preseason finale, especially during the hours leading up to the 5:00 p.m. CT deadline. If Chicago targets specific roles on defense or special teams, the league’s waiver priority gives a clear framework for when those players might become attainable, and when the Bears could be forced to pivot to other options.

Finally, this is a reminder that the waiver wire does not operate in a vacuum. It is closely tied to each team’s overall roster plan, including how many players they are willing to carry at each position through the preseason and how they balance potential upside against the requirement to reach the 53-man limit by the league deadline. The Bears’ position in the order is one piece of that larger puzzle, but it can shape how quickly they can alter their roster picture once the preseason ends.