Admin August 27, 2024
Drew Bledsoe breaks down the AFC East and who he likes to come out on top
Mackenzie Salmon spoke with NFL great Drew Bledsoe about the stacked AFC East and what makes each team unique.
Sports Seriously
One of the biggest days of the NFL offseason is here: roster deadline day. Today marks the date in which all 32 NFL franchises must reduce their rosters to 53 players. Some teams began the process yesterday but the rest of the league will pare down their rosters today.
NFL cuts 2024: Live updates as Tuesday’s 53-man roster cutdown deadline looms
Some of these cuts are expected while others are more of a shock. Here are grades for some of the roster moves made for today’s deadline:
Minnesota Vikings move on from 2022 first-round pick
Lewis Cine was the final selection in the 2022 NFL Draft to the Vikings after a strong career at Georgia. But the standout defensive back only played in 10 games over the past two seasons with one tackle to show for it.
Minnesota made the move to cut the former No. 32 overall pick Tuesday. Their defensive back room is free agent-heavy at corner and they’re starting Harrison Smith – the second-oldest player on the team – and former fourth-round pick Camryn Bynum at safety. Letting Cine go in favor of that group and other depth pieces is the right way to move on. It doesn’t reflect well on that draft class, though, as now the Vikings’ top two picks from that group are no longer in Minnesota.
Grade: B+
Most NFL teams keep two or, at most, three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. The Cleveland Browns went a much different route, though, in keeping four quarterbacks on the roster: Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jameis Winston, and Tyler Huntley.
All four have starting experience but keeping them all means going thin at other positions, including running back. The Browns can expect Nick Chubb back later this year but enter the season with just Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. at the position on the depth chart. Both are listed as the top kick returners as well.
If any of the quarterbacks are traded, this will look better. But as it stands now this isn’t a prudent use of roster spots.
Grade: C-
New Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz inherited an expensive roster lacking breadth of talent. But they attacked those deficiencies aggressively in the draft, starting with top tackle prospect in Joe Alt. They addressed wide receiver (Ladd McConkey and Brenden Rice), cornerback (Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart), and linebacker (Junior Colson) later on as well.
Los Angeles also signed 18 undrafted free agents. Most were waived and only one draftee didn’t make the cut: Michigan wideout Cornelius Johnson, the final Chargers pick in the 2024 NFL Draft (253rd overall). Three-year veterans Alex Leatherwood (tackle) and Isaiah Spiller (running back) were signed this offseason but waived today in favor of younger players at both positions.
The Chargers are in a transition year and letting that young talent compete and potentially grow into solid starters at the very least is a worthwhile move.
Grade: B+
Kickoff changes for 2024: As NFL’s ultimate kickoff X-factor, Cordarrelle Patterson could produce big returns for Steelers
Lawson burst on the scene as a rookie in 2017 with 8.5 sacks in 16 games as a rotational edge. Achilles and ACL injuries derailed later years but he posted seven sacks in 17 games in 2022. He played in just six games in 2023 after falling out of the Jets’ rotation and signed with the Cowboys on Aug. 19.
Dallas cut the 29-year-old Lawson today despite a need at edge opposite Micah Parsons. Of the Cowboys’ top five pass rushers by sacks last year, only Parsons (14 sacks in 2023) and 32-year-old DeMarcus Lawrence (four) are healthy and on the roster. This puts a lot of pressure on rookie Marshawn Kneeland to contribute early on at edge under new coordinator Mike Zimmer’s system.
Lawson’s agent will likely be on speed dial for general managers early in the season if a top pass rusher suffers a significant injury.
Grade: C
NFL preseason winners, losers: Trey Lance remains a puzzle for Cowboys
Toney was the fourth of five wide receivers taken in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The ones before him were Ja’Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, and DeVonta Smith. Rashod Bateman was taken seven selections after him.
He’s the only one of that group who hasn’t broken 500 yards from scrimmage in a season three years into his NFL career. His punt return touchdown was crucial in Kansas City’s Super Bowl 57 win but his blunders against Detroit (drops) and Buffalo (lining up offsides) during the regular season last year were critical mistakes.
He’s out as Kansas City instead rolls with a wide receiver corps including Rashee Rice, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, rookie Xavier Worthy, and former Chiefs wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster. Those are plenty enough resources at the position, so Toney will not be missed.
Grade: A-