close
close

Live updates on the squad before cutdown day

play

Now that the 2024 NFL preseason is officially over, the difficult part is coming – which is actually already in full swing.

All 32 teams are beginning the painful process of trimming their 90-man rosters — those allowed in the offseason — down to the 53-man squads they will carry into the regular season. Many have already made an initial reduction, with some fairly notable players among those entering the free agent pool, including OLB Randy Gregory (Buccaneers), S Ronnie Harrison (Colts), LB Deion Jones (Bills), RB Joshua Kelley (Giants), WR Denzel Mims (Jaguars), RB Boston Scott (Rams), JuJu Smith-Schuster (Patriots), TE CJ Uzomah (Eagles) and QB Mike White (Dolphins). Smith-Schuster already signed a new (and former) employer on Monday.

The deadline to create the roster is Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET — which means a lot of players will be released, traded, placed on the injured list or subjected to other mechanisms while roster lists are finalized (for now). After that, there will be more upheaval as players are claimed off waivers — which will result in trades — before clubs start filling out their practice squads.

Follow all the important transactions of the day before tomorrow's deadline here on Monday:

As Denver looks for ways to sign some of its veterans (read more below), the Broncos officially released eight players on Monday afternoon. S Omar Brown, CB Art Green, DB Kaleb Hayes, OL Oliver Jervis and ILB Alec Mock were all released, while DL Angelo Blackson, WR Phillip Dorsett II and ILB Andre Smith were released.

Malik Willis is on the way. This could be the first of several moves this week that also include a reshuffle of backup quarterbacks.

Liberty's 2022 third-round pick will be traded by the Tennessee Titans to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a seventh-round draft pick, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.

Willis started three games as a rookie, but Tennessee decided to select Will Levis in the second round of last year's draft. After succeeding Ryan Tannehill midseason in 2023, Levis is now firmly established as the starter and experienced Mason Rudolph was brought in this offseason as his replacement. So Willis is getting a fresh start with the Packers.

In Green Bay, he should be the No. 2 behind Jordan Love. The Packers also have Sean Clifford and seventh-round rookie Michael Pratt from Tulane at quarterback.

The Arizona Cardinals have trimmed their roster for the first time, and none of the six departing players were a major surprise. The club announced the release of WR Daylen Baldwin, LB Chris Garrett, CB Delonte Hood, S Verone McKinley III, CB Michael Ojemudia and OL Austen Pleasants.

Two more notable Denver Broncos players could leave the team before Sean Payton's second year at the helm.

The Broncos are preparing to move on from wide receiver Tim Patrick, 9NEWS' Mike Klis reported. Patrick topped 700 receiving yards in both 2020 and 2021 but hasn't played in the last two seasons after suffering a torn ACL and Achilles tendon the previous two summers. Patrick, 30, has drawn “strong” interest on the transfer market ahead of Tuesday's deadline, Klis reported.

Meanwhile, Denver is also looking to sign running back Samaje Perine, as Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported. Perine averaged 4.5 yards per carry and had 50 catches last season, but it appears the Broncos would prefer to move on with Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and fifth-round rookie Audric Estime in the backfield.

The Chicago Bears joined the group of teams making early roster cuts on Monday, releasing receivers John Jackson and Peter LeBlanc, offensive linemen Ja'Tyre Carter and Jerome Carvin, defensive linemen Michael Dwumfour and Jaylon Hutchings, linebackers Paul Moala and Javin White and safety Quindell Johnson.

Carter, a seventh-round draft pick in 2022, started two games for Chicago last season and appeared in 10 games overall.

On Monday, the New England Patriots released the following players: long snapper Tucker Addington, wide receiver Kawaan Baker, defensive end William Bradley-King, defensive tackle Josiah Bronson, linebacker Steele Chambers, running back Deshaun Fenwick, cornerback Azizi Hearn, tackle Zuri Henry, Defensive end Christian McCarroll, tight end La'Michael Pettway, defensive tackle Sam Roberts, center Charles Turner, cornerback Mikey Victor and tight end Jacob Warren.

The majority of the players were non-drafted rookie free agents; Roberts, a sixth-round draft pick in 2022, was one of the few exceptions.

Among the 15 players the Dallas Cowboys sent home on Monday were some well-known and notable names.

Defensive tackle Albert Huggins was released less than two weeks after drawing the ire of coach Mike McCarthy for shoving a Los Angeles Rams staff member during a group practice.

“His behavior is obviously unacceptable,” McCarthy said, according to ESPN.com.

Linebacker Damien Wilson, who played 22 games for the team from 2016 to 2018, was also released. Defensive lineman Viliami Fehoko Jr., a 2023 fourth-round pick, was released due to injury.

The Cleveland Browns currently have just 78 players left on their roster after releasing 16 players on Monday: S Tyler Coyle, G Wyatt Davis, K Lucas Havrisik, CB Faion Hicks, LB Landon Honeycutt, LB Caleb Johnson, G Zack Johnson, DE Jeremiah Martin, T Roy Mbaeteka, LB Marvin Moody, T Chim Okorafor, RB Aidan Robbins, RB Jacob Saylors, LS Rex Sunahara, DE Isaiah Thomas and S Chase Williams (injury report).

More notably, five players – including offensive tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin and cornerback Greg Newsome II – returned to the Browns’ active roster after all passed their medical fitness tests.

Few players have as many players on their roster as the defending NFC champions … which is probably why some of the San Francisco 49ers' layoffs were so noticeable on Monday. The team released two players, veteran running backs Matt Breida and Ke'Shawn Vaughn, and waived three others, including P Pressley Harvin III.

A veteran of seven NFL seasons, the first three of which he spent with San Francisco, Breida has amassed nearly 3,600 yards from scrimmage, mostly as a backup. Vaughn was a third-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 but hasn't made much of an impact. Jordan Mason and Elijah Mitchell remain the primary backups to All-Pro RB Christian McCaffrey. Harvin, who won the Ray Guy Award as the best punter in college football in 2020 while at Georgia Tech, spent the last three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers but couldn't beat out Mitch Wishnowsky this summer.

Sterling Shepard is still trying to fight his way back after a torn Achilles tendon in 2021 and a torn ACL in 2022 put his playing career in doubt. The wide receiver is being released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported, but the team wants to bring the 31-year-old back to the practice squad.

Shepard caught just 10 passes in 15 games in his first season back from injury, but the Oklahoma player hopes that rejoining his former Sooners teammate Baker Mayfield will give him new momentum.

The Minnesota Vikings began trimming their roster on Monday by releasing or releasing 14 players. Notable names included quarterback Matt Corral, the former Carolina Panthers third-round draft pick and UFL product who signed with the team after JJ McCarthy was out for the season with a knee injury, and running back DeWayne McBride, a 2023 seventh-round draft pick who stood out at UAB.

The full list of players Minnesota parted ways with on Monday:

  • Quarterback Matt Corral
  • RB DeWayne McBride
  • TE Sammis Reyes
  • RB Mo Ibrahim
  • CB Jaylin Williams
  • TE Neal Johnson
  • WR Justin Hall
  • OLB Owen Porter
  • OL Chuck Filiaga
  • OL Doug Nester
  • OL Matt Cindric
  • OL Spencer Rolland
  • DL Tyler Manoa
  • CB AJ Green III

The Pittsburgh Steelers have begun to trim down their roster.

On Monday, the team released eight players: offensive linemen Tyler Beach and Devery Hamilton, wide receivers Jacob Copeland and TJ Luther, running back Daijun Edwards, defensive lineman Marquiss Spencer, linebacker Kyahva Tezino and defensive back Kiondre Thomas.

After trading edge rusher Darrell Taylor to the Chicago Bears and signing linebacker Michael Barrett in exchange for cornerback Michael Jackson in recent days, the Seattle Seahawks have agreed to another trade.

The team will sign edge rusher Trevis Gipson from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported.

Gipson, 27, had one sack for the Tennessee Titans last season but recorded seven for the Chicago Bears in 2021. He adds depth at the outside position for Seattle following the Taylor trade. The Seahawks are expected to continue to rely primarily on Uchenna Nwosu, Dre'Mont Jones, Boye Mafe and Derick Hall.

Smith-Schuster, who may have been the first high-profile player to be unemployed in early August, has already resurfaced in what looks like a crowded Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver room in his eighth NFL season. Why are the two-time defending champions bringing back a player who appears to be declining – Smith-Schuster caught 29 passes for New England in 2023 – after letting him go after the 2022 season?

Read more

All 32 teams must reduce their active rosters to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 27.

NFL teams have until noon ET on Wednesday, August 28 to claim players released as part of league-wide roster reductions. Once those claims are resolved, clubs will begin filling their practice squads.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, that roster was expanded so that teams are now allowed to add up to 16 players to the practice squad, which supplements the 53-man roster. Up to 10 players with two or fewer accrued seasons can join a given practice squad, while a maximum of six others with unlimited NFL service time are also eligible for spots.

A 17th national player can join if he meets certain participation requirements.

You may also like...