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With the 2024 NFL preseason officially complete, now comes the hard part – which is actually already well underway.
All 32 teams are embarking on the painful process of paring their 90-man rosters – which are permissible 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 headed for 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 C.J. Uzomah (Eagles) and QB Mike White (Dolphins). Smith-Schuster already caught on with a new (and former) employer Monday.
The deadline to be roster compliant is 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday – which means a flurry of players will be released, traded, placed on injured reserve or subject to other mechanisms as depth charts are finalized (for now). Another churn will happen afterward as players are claimed off waivers – which will cause corresponding moves – before clubs begin filling out their practice squads.
Follow along here Monday as we track all of the day’s notable transactions ahead of tomorrow’s deadline:
Some familiar and notable names were among the 15 players to be sent packing by the Dallas Cowboys on Monday.
Defensive tackle Albert Huggins was released less than two weeks after he drew the ire of coach Mike McCarthy for shoving a Los Angeles Rams staffer in a joint practice.
“Obviously, his behavior is unacceptable,” McCarthy said, according to ESPN.com.
Linebacker Damien Wilson, who started 22 games for the team from 2016-18, was also released. Defensive lineman Viliami Fehoko Jr., a 2023 fourth-round pick, was waived with an injury designation.
The Cleveland Browns are down to 78 players on their roster after waiving 16 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 designation).
More notably, the Browns returned five players – including starting offensive tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin as well as cornerback Greg Newsome II – to their active roster after all passed their physical.
Few rosters are as loaded as the defending NFC champions’ … which is probably why several of the San Francisco 49ers’ cuts Monday were so recognizable. The team released two players, veteran RBs Matt Breida and Ke’Shawn Vaughn, and waived thee others, including P Pressley Harvin III.
Breida is a veteran of seven NFL seasons, the first three spent with San Francisco, and has amassed nearly 3,600 yards from scrimmage, mostly in a backup role. Vaughn was a third-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 but hasn’t made much of a dent. Jordan Mason and Elijah Mitchell remain as All-Pro RB Christian McCaffrey’s primary backups. Harvin, who won the Ray Guy Award in 2020 as college football’s top punter while at Georgia Tech, spent the past three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers but couldn’t beat out Mitch Wishnowsky this summer.
Sterling Shepard is still trying to battle his way back after a torn Achilles in 2021 and a torn ACL in 2022 put his playing days in doubt. The wide receiver is being released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported, but the team is looking to bring back the 31-year-old on the practice squad.
Shepard caught just 10 passes in 15 games in his first season back in action after the injuries. But the Oklahoma product is hoping that rejoining former Sooners teammate Baker Mayfield will provide him with a spark.
The Minnesota Vikings began their roster cuts Monday by waiving or releasing 14 players. Among the notable names were quarterback Matt Corral, the former Carolina Panthers third-round draft pick and UFL product who signed with the team after J.J. McCarthy was lost to a season-ending knee injury, and running back DeWayne McBride, a 2023 seventh-round pick who was a standout at UAB.
The full list of players Minnesota parted with on Monday:
- QB 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 A.J. Green III
The Pittsburgh Steelers have begun the process of paring down their roster.
On Monday, the team released eight players: Offensive lineman Tyler Beach and Devery Hamilton, wide receivers Jacob Copeland and T.J. Luther, running back Daijun Edwards, defensive lineman Marquiss Spencer, linebacker Kyahva Tezino and defensive back Kiondre Thomas.
After trading away edge rusher Darrell Taylor to the Chicago Bears and acquiring linebacker Michael Barrett in exchange for cornerback Michael Jackson in recent days, the Seattle Seahawks have agreed to another trade.
The team will land edge rusher Trevis Gipson from the Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported.
Gipson, 27, had one sack for the Tennessee Titans last season but recorded seven for the Chicago Bears in 2021. He replenishes depth on the edge for Seattle after the Taylor trade. The Seahawks are still expected to chiefly rely on Uchenna Nwosu, Dre’Mont Jones, Boye Mafe and Derick Hall.
Perhaps the first prominent player to hit the unemployment line earlier in August, Smith-Schuster, now heading into his eighth NFL season, has already resurfaced in what appears like a crowded Kansas City Chiefs wideout room. Why are the two-time defending champions bringing back an apparently declining player – Smith-Schuster caught 29 passes for New England in 2023 – after letting him go following the 2022 season?
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By 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 27, all 32 teams must reduce their active rosters to 53 players.
NFL teams have until noon ET on Wednesday, Aug. 28, to claim players who are waived as part of league-wide roster reductions. Once those claims are resolved, clubs will begin filling out their practice squads.
Expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, teams are now allowed to carry up to 16 players on 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 more with an unlimited amount of NFL service are also eligible for spots.
A 17th international player can be added if he meets certain eligibility requirements.
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
