Drew Bledsoe discusses the rookie QBs he’s excited to watch
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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:
The DPJ experiment is done in Motown. The Detroit Lions released WR Donovan Peoples-Jones on Monday. NFL reporter Jordan Schultz first reported news of Peoples-Jones’ release, a few hours after Lions coach Dan Campbell discussed the factors he and general manager Brad Holmes were considering when it came to choosing their final receiving corps. The Lions acquired Peoples-Jones from the Cleveland Browns at last fall’s trade deadline, then re-signed him this spring after letting Josh Reynolds walk as their No. 3 receiver in free agency.
Read more from the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett
As Denver explores trades for some of its veterans (read more below), the Broncos did officially let go of eight players Monday afternoon. S Omar Brown, CB Art Green, DB Kaleb Hayes, OL Oliver Jervis and ILB Alec Mock were all waived, while DL Angelo Blackson, WR Phillip Dorsett II and ILB Andre Smith were released.
Malik Willis is on the move in what could be the first of several moves this week involving a reshuffling of backup quarterbacks.
The 2022 third-round pick out of Liberty is being traded from 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 rookie, but Tennessee decided to select Will Levis in the second round of last year’s draft. With Levis firmly entrenched as the starter after taking over for Ryan Tannehill at midseason in 2023 and veteran Mason Rudolph being signed as a backup this offseason, Willis gets a fresh start with the Packers.
In Green Bay, he should serve as the No. 2 behind Jordan Love. The Packers still have Sean Clifford and seventh-round rookie Michael Pratt out of Tulane at quarterback as well.
The Arizona Cardinals made their first roster trim, none of the six departing players representing much of a 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 be headed to the exit ahead of 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 exceeded 700 receiving yards in both 2020 and 2021, but he has not played in either of the last two seasons after suffering a torn ACL and torn Achilles in the previous two summers. Patrick, 30, has generated “strong” interest on the trade market ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, Klis reported.
Meanwhile, Denver also is shopping running back Samaje Perine, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported. Perine averaged 4.5 yards per carry last season and had 50 catches, but it appears the Broncos would favor moving forward 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 Monday by dropping 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 contests 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 bulk of the players were undrafted rookie free agents, with Roberts, a 2022 sixth-round draft pick, one of the lone exceptions.
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:
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?
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.
