By Steven Luker
The NFL is known for cuts after preseason and there are a lot of players trying out to make the fifty three man roster in the NFL. But sadly a lot of the players will get cut from the team, go to free agency or some might be saved and be placed on the practice squad. Now we are seeing some big names on these teams that did cut some players.
I will go over each team and highlight some of the key players we have heard of and what the future can be for that player.
Who didn’t make the cut?
The first team we are going to look at is the Arizona Cardinals one of the key players that was cut was Colt McCoy. McCoy served as a backup to Kyler Murry when Murry got hurt last season. The reason behind the cut was because the Cardinals got Joshua Dobbs from the Browns so they felt that Dobbs is a better quarterback than McCoy.
The Atlanta Falcons released Godwin Igwebuike but then they later brought him back to the practice squad. The Baltimore Ravens decided to cut a veteran player in Melvin Gordan then turn around and bring him back and place him on the practice squad. It is not normal for teams to cut veteran players just to save some money for them and make a better team. We see it a lot this year in MLB with the vets being DFA and released.
The Buffalo Bills have decided to cut former Detroit Lions running back Ty Johnson who in his rookie season, Johnson had 63 carries for 273 rushing yards and 24 receptions for 109 receiving yards. The Carolina Panthers decided to cut Matt Corral there third round pick last season draft comes to shock after one season they cut him and didn’t want anything. Corral ended up going to New England to play.
The Bears cut to quarterbacks we have heard of Nathan Peterman and PJ Walker. PJ Walker was a successful quarterback in the XFL when it first started in 2020 and he was picked up by Carolina when the XFL went under. Peterman on the hand was known in his debut with the Bills to throw 5 interceptions in the first half, what a bad debut that was.
The Cincinnati Bengals cut Super Bowl 50 winner Tervor Siemian from their team. Siemian is mostly seen on the Denver Broncos and the New Orleans Saints but last season Siemian was with the Bears.
The Cleveland Browns cut a quarterback that had a lot of potential in the league and it was Kellen Mond. Mond was a 3rd round pick for the Vikings he was a backup but in college he had over 9000 yards. Mond was claimed off waivers once the Browns traded Dobbs to the Cardinals but Mond didn’t make the cut; he was cut instent.
You have noticed so far a ton of quarterbacks getting cut. Why is that you may ask? It seems like a lot of teams feel that the quarterback position is either not a key position or they already have the people they have for it. Cade York was another person the Browns cut in his rookie season he was 24 for 32 in field goals.
The Cowboys have cut Will Grier after they got Trey Lance from the 49ers. You wonder why cut him in his last preseason game Grier was 29/35 305 passing yards. That seems to be good numbers to keep someone well I guess since Trey Lance joined them it was a tough decision to pick one person to go either Grier or Cooper Rush who knows.
The Broncos cut two kickers Elliot Fry and Brett Maher you would think wait now Broncos are kickerless. Well you are wrong they got Will Lutz from the Saints to reunite with Sean Payton. The Broncos also cut backup quarterback from the Cowboys Ben DiNucci but then bought him back. The Detroit Lions cut former receiver of the Chargers Jason Moore.
The Green Bay Packers cut players but bought back some of the players and one of the players they cut was Patrick Taylor and then they brought him back like they like opps bring him back. How well will the Packers do without Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love under center? The Houston Texans cut players but not any I can find out that we will know about.
The Indianapolis Colts have cut players such as Kenyan Drake, a player who used to play for the Airzona Cardinals. Now the Colts are searching trying to get rid of their main running back Jonathan Taylor and it has an open spot for a rookie right now as they try to trade Taylor.
Ok the Jacksonville Jaguars they have cut head coach Doug Peterson son Josh Peterson. You might be like hold up Doug Peterson cut his son from the team. How is that going to explain at home and to his wife? A theory comes up with Peterson might be sleeping on the couch for a couple weeks and probably won’t get any Christmas gifts from his son Josh.
The Kansas City Chiefs cut some players but none of the names stand out. The Las Vegas Raiders cut Keelan Cole. Cole is a former Jacksonville Jaguars that in his first season had 748 receiving yards. The Los Angeles Chargers cut and then bought back John Hightower. Hightower is a former Eagles player.
The Los Angeles Rams, the other team in Los Angeles, decided to cut Brett Rypien but then they bought him back. Rypien is a former Denver Bronco. The Miami Dolphins they cut not bleacher brothers founder A.J. Johnson is linebacker A.J. Johnson. So there are not a lot of notable names for the Dolphins.
The Minnesota Vikings cut USFL/XFL star player Jordan Ta’amu, a quarterback. You are noticing some of the players that either played in the AAF, USFL or the XFL are getting cut from teams. This means they land back in those leagues with the exception of the AAF.
Now the New England Patriots cut players such as Bailey Zappe, Trace McSorley, and Ty Montgomery II. Montgomery and Zappe did end up coming back to the team. Zappe was a rookie quarterback in last year’s draft. The Patriots almost started the season with no backup quarterback.
The New Orleans Saints traded Will Lutz to the Broncos that one name they lost but he was not cut. They cut Super Bowl 54 winner Darrel Williams.
The New York Giants cut James Robinson, a running back from the Jacksonville Jaguars. The New York Jets have cut Tim Boyle and punter Thomas Morstead, a former punter for the Saints. But the Jets did bring back both of them. Boyle backed up current Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers when he was in Green Bay.
The Philadelphia Eagles have cut Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book. Book made his debut with the Saints in 2021. The Pittsburgh Steelers cut Ja’Marcus Bradley, a former Browns wideout.
The San Francisco 49ers cut former Ravens wideout Willie Snead IV. Snead’s best season was in 2015 with the Saints where he had 984 receiving yards. Snead did go back to the 49ers.
The Seattle Seahawks cut players but none to highlight on. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut players such as Rodrigo Blankenship, a kicker who was battling to get the job against Chase McLaughlin but Blankenship lost the battle.
The Tennessee Titans have the most kickers with three and Jonathan Ward. The three kickers the Titans cut was Michael Badgley, Caleb Shudak and Trey Wolff. The Titans are going with former Patriot kicker Nick Folk.
The last and final team is the Washington Commanders they cut Jake Fromm and also before Titans cut Michael Badgley. So this makes Badgley cut from two teams in one year. Jake Fromm did end up coming back being on the practice squad. Let us know what cuts shocked you and what do you think will all these cut players go either to practice squads or will they go to a league such as the USFL, XFL or other leagues let us know. Also do you agree with some of these moves that happen or do you disagree with them.
References
https://clutchpoints.com/nfl-cut-day-surprising-roster-moves
https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-roster-cuts-tracker-team-by-team-player-moves-ahead-of-the-2023-season
