Roster Cutdown Blog: Saturday Night Update
We’ll be updating this blog throughout the weekend with all the important cuts, trades, roster moves and other important information as teams cut down to the required roster limitations. This is always one of the most exciting weekends as we finally found out what the coaches are truly thinking about some young players. If you’re new to the blog, read from the bottom up, as the latest information will be at the top.
The Seahawks wasted no time and picked up another tight end by nabbing Evan Moore of the Browns. Moore has always had talent and I think he’s an upgrade over the newly departed Winslow. Â He could still steal some targets from Zach Miller, but I still think this is a good day for Miller owners.
DJ Ware was picked up by Tampa Bay. This news does nothing to the stock of Doug Martin, but it does hurt seventh round rookie Michael Smith who likely drops down to fourth on the depth chart. If they keep all four running backs, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Blount gone after the season.
Wow, the Seahawks cut Kellen Winslow. He’s going to have a hard time resurrecting his career, but it’s great news for Zach Miller, who should be the primary catching tight end if he doesn’t spend half the season blocking on the line again.
Greg Salas was traded to the Patriots, which helps make more sense of why New England let so many receivers go. Salas could be a hot pickup this week, but he’s no better than 4th or 5th on the depth chart at receiver, which makes him around the 11th option in the passing game at the moment.
Chris Owusu couldn’t make the 49ers, but he’s been claimed by the Chargers. He could be interesting if he makes the final 53 there.
The Dolphins and Redskins were rumored to have that Steve Slaton for Anthony Armstrong deal on the table, but it didn’t happen. Well, the Dolphins have claimed Armstrong and Slaton has been cut, possibly paving the way for him to go to Washington and reunite with his former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. That’s just great.
If you were hoping that Clyde Gates would latch on to a better situation after being cut by Miami, that can go ahead and stop as he was claimed by the Jets. The most entertaining part of practice would certainly be Tim Tebow attempting to throw deep passes to the speedy Gates since Tebow can’t throw and Gates can’t catch at the moment.
Tommy Streeter was placed on IR for the Ravens. He has a foot injury that doesn’t seem that serious, but let’s face the facts here – Streeter is incredibly raw and really needed a redshirt season.
Josh Portis was among the Seahawks cuts. He had shown some promise last season, but Seattle had no need for him with Russell Wilson and Matt Flynn in town. He’d be an interesting addition for a quarterback starved team.
One of the higher profile players who was on the bubble this year was Knowshon Moreno, but he’s made the Broncos roster following last year’s lost season.
Super sleeper Darius Reynaud made too many big plays for the Titans to be cut and should be their primary return man this year. Remember his name if Chris Johnson was to ever miss time, though.
Daryl Richardson was kept on the Rams roster and that’s important to note for anyone owning Isaiah Pead. Richardson was actually the better player this preseason.
Travaris Cadet and Chris Ivory both made the Saints, but that could be temporary. If New Orleans sees someone on the wire they like, they could cut loose one or both of these players. However, I think the first to go would be Ivory if they can’t find a trade partner, which seems a bit unlikely this late in the game.
Jordan Shipley was cut by Tampa Bay and that could spell bad news for his career.
The Panthers cut Tauren Poole and Armond Smith mostly because they already have half the league’s running backs. Keep an eye on where Poole ends up – he was a bit of a rookie darkhorse before signing to compete in the most loaded backfield in the league. He may end up on the practice squad, but he could have value if he finds a home elsewhere.
The Seahawks have cut Deon Butler and Ricardo Lockette. We were really hoping Lockette could latch on, but it looks like Braylon Edwards is going to make the team and that burns up a roster spot. Butler hasn’t been the same since his horrific leg injury, but should latch on with a receiver needy team in the next couple of days.
One of the biggest surprises comes out of San Francisco where the 49ers have cut quarterback Josh Johnson. While Johnson has struggled in the camp, he was once Jim Harbaugh’s college quarterback and the match seemed to be perfect. Scott Tolzien was kept over him and that seems downright shocking.
The Ravens cut Anthony Allen, which just makes Bobby Rainey that much more attractive as a deep stash.
The Rams cut Kellen Clemens, which is a surprise since they have only Austin Davis to play behind Sam Bradford – they’re a prime candidate to scoop someone up in the coming days.
Those hoping for some magic from Jeff Demps in New England are going to have to wait as he was placed on season ending IR.
The Vikings cut Jordan Todman, who had seemingly wrapped up a roster spot behind Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart. The fact the Vikings are going with just Peterson, Gerhart and fullback Matt Asiata show they have a lot of faith in Peterson’s recovery.
The Jets cut Terrance Ganaway, which is very disappointing considering many dynasty owners were hoping he’d emerge as an option behind the uninspiring Shonn Greene. He’ll be practice squad eligible, but can be cut in dynasty leagues for certain.
The Redskins cut Anthony Armstrong, which is important to note since he was rumored to be headed to Miami in a trade for Steve Slaton – that’s obviously not happening, much to the joy of anyone owning any Redskins running back.
The Chargers cut Edwin Baker, meaning they’ll roll with Curtis Brinkley and Jackie Battle behind Ronnie Brown until Ryan Mathews returns.
One of the most disappointing transactions of the day comes from New Orleans as Nick Toon was placed on IR. This certainly explains why Adrian Arrington was kept, but is still disappointing to owners who drafted Toon with the hopes he could emerge this season.
As expected, Dan “Boom” Herron was cut by the Bengals. They’ll likely try to find a place for him on the practice squad, but he hasn’t shown much in camp.
The Cardinals dumped Alphonso Smith, meaning William Powell earned himself a spot on the roster. With the brittle nature of the players in front of him, Powell could be considered a deep sleeper.
The Browns released wide receiver Josh Cooper, which is disappointing since he had some sleeper appeal being a former teammate of Brandon Weeden and all. He’s a candidate for the practice squad this year.
Marcus Easley has long been a favorite sleeper here at DLF, but he failed to make a big enough impression with Buffalo and has been released by the team this afternoon. It’s a disappointing day for a player whose career has been destroyed by injuries.
John Skelton has been named the starter for Arizona, which is terrible news for the dynasty value of Kevin Kolb. It’s quite obvious that Kolb is now a total bust. Skelton hasn’t played well this preseason and it’s telling he still won the job. Kolb simply looks scared at this point.
If you have John Kasay as your kicker, you better go out and grab Garrett Hartley because he won the job in New Orleans.
In a move that will go unnoticed on some fronts, the Texans released running back Jonathan Grimes. Keep an eye on him if he shows up on another team. Houston is undoubtedly trying to sneak him on to their practice squad.
The Eagles also released Mike Kafka, which means Trent Edwards will be the third quarterback behind Michael Vick and the impressive Nick Foles.
Seneca Wallace was let go by the Browns, meaning there will be no trade of Colt McCoy to Green Bay or anywhere else any time soon. McCoy is going to be tough to hold on to in dynasty leagues. The Browns also released Evan Moore, who has shown promise on more than one occasion.
Marvin McNutt had a great round of OTAs but couldn’t stick with Philly. It will be interesting to see if Damaris Johnson makes the team now.
Deion Branch was let go by New England and he joins Jabar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth as veteran casualties out of the New England camp. As I heard today, it’s not hard to figure out how the Pats are planning on beating teams – follow the money to Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
The Patriots suprised most everyone by dumping quarterback Brian Hoyer. They had given him a second round tender earlier and he was thought to be a likely candidate to compete for a starting job next year. Instead, he was beaten out by Ryan Mallett and is now looking for a job. Look for him to end up somewhere quickly, though he didn’t play well the past two weeks. Mallett gets a nice little uptick in dynasty value and looks to be the undisputed future replacement for Tom Brady now.
Mardy Gilyard was among the Eagles cuts. The former Ram and once promising receiver from the University of Cincinnati amy simply be out of chances.
Armando Allen lost out on the third running back job to Lorenzo Booker in Chicago. Neither have any value.
The Redskins running back carousel just became a total joke as Washington has cut Tim Hightower and is reportedly working on a trade to send Anthony Armstrong to Miami for Steve Slaton. The winner in that deal could actually be Armstrong since the Dolphins have released so many receivers today. Who knows what role Slaton will have in Washington. He could sit on the bench or run for 2,000 yards this year.
Rumors are swirling that Miami could be interested in acquiring James Jones from the Green Bay Packers. It makes sense with Joe Philbin as their head coach and their receiving corps are mess right now. Couple that with the Packers having an embarrassment of riches at the position and a marriage here could make some sense. It’s still unlikely to happen, but stay tuned.
The Dolphins have cut receivers Jeff Fuller, Clyde Gates, Roberto Wallace and BJ Cunningham. It’s surprising that Miami let all these receivers go and the expectation should be that they scour the waiver wire to bring back in some more players. They could use the practice squad to house a few prospects as well, but it’s hard to see them load that up with too many receivers.
The play of Michael Smith in Tampa Bay has resulted in Mossis Madu being cut by Tampa Bay. Smith is an intriguing deep, deep sleeper in dynasty leagues, especially since it doesn’t seem likely that LeGarrette Blount will want to be there long term.
The Giants cut DJ Ware in favor of keeping Andre Brown and Da’Rel Scott on the roster. Many dynasty league owners were quietly hoping Scott would get cut (and he still could eventually) because he does have some talent, but finds himself buried behind David Wilson and Ahmad Bradshaw. Ware has little value, regardless of who may pick him up.
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
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