Tuesday night all 32 of the NFL’s teams got to make their easiest cuts of the year, trimming their preseason roster down to 75 players. The next cut, down to 53, will be significantly tougher as these are the players other teams may want to look at, while the team that cut them will probably add them to their practice squad.
There are two types of guys that get cut at the 75 mark. Players that the cutting team wants to give an ample shot at finding another job or players who have seen their NFL dream come to an abrupt end. For that second group, it’s time to go back and finish up that sports fitness degree they promised their mothers they’d get eventually.
Here are a few of the notable Tuesday cuts.
Atlanta Falcons: Quarterback Sean Renfree
I give Renfree a lot of crap and the guy doesn’t deserve it. His name is just the easiest for me to remember in my mental rolodex when I’m talking about crappy back up quarterbacks who seem to keep hanging around the league for no sensible reason. All of that is true about Renfree, of course, but I probably single him out too much. The good news for him is, as long as another NFL team doesn’t sign him, I’ll never mention him again.
Cleveland Browns: Quarterback Austin Davis and Linebacker Paul Kruger
Both of these cuts are of the first type I mentioned. The Browns have set Davis and Kruger free in time to land with another team. Davis has started 10 games over the last two season with the Rams and Browns and flashed a lot of promise. He’ll get his chance to suit up again and is already in talks to join the Dallas Cowboys.
Best available QBs:
Tarvaris Jackson
R. Grossman
Matt Flynn
Charlie Whitehurst
M. Vick
Austin Davis
Josh Freeman
J. Clausen
T.J. Yates
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) August 30, 2016
In Kruger’s case, the Browns cut him loose hoping to get some salary offset on their cap when he eventually signed with another team. Luckily for the Browns, the New Orleans Saints have already stepped in to add Kruger to their roster.
Los Angeles Rams: Wide Receiver Marquez North
I never thought North would make the final roster with the Rams, but I thought he was probably good enough to keep on the practice squad and develop. North has natural size and speed and seemed worth the spot on the reserve team. It might be time for North to head to Canada.
New England Patriots: Defensive Tackle Terrance Knighton and Center Bryan Stork
Knighton just wasn’t worth cap space for the production the Patriots needed to get out of him. He’s a guy that takes up space and sucks in blockers, making the occasional play. He’s a two-sack, 30 tackle guy and you can’t pay him more than that.
BB on Terrance Knighton: "Just didn't work out. Came in, worked hard, lost weight, got in good condition … just other people ahead of him"
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 29, 2016
Stork getting cut is surprising only because he started at center for the Pats during their last Super Bowl run. He’s a starting caliber offensive lineman, but he’s a scrapper who can be a little too physical at times. He also likes to fight. Patriots coach Bill Belichick had seen enough and tried to trade him, but Stork failed a physical with the Redskins.
Philadelphia Eagles: Wide Receivers Chris Givens and Rueben Randle
The Eagles aren’t screwing around with their receiver corps. Just a few days after trading for Dorial Beckham-Green, they cut both their key free agent acquisitions at receiver. The move costs Philadelphia $680,000 in dead cap money. They basically just flushed it down the toilet for two guys to spend a couple of weeks in camp.
WRs Marcus Johnson and David Watford are still here, and Chris Givens and Rueben Randle are gone. Effort does count, apparently…
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) August 28, 2016
Givens has burner speed and has averaged 16.6 yards per catch over his career. Randle had solid back-to-back seasons with the Giants, catching 57 passes for 797 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Randle could easily end back up on the Giants’ roster before the weekend is out. As for Givens, his speed should keep him in the league for a while. I’d like to see him end up with the Indianapolis Colts, but his old teams, the Ravens and the Rams, could end up bringing him back in.
