NFL cut-down date is quickly approaching. That means hundreds of players will see their football dreams cut down in a flurry of releases.
All 32 teams will have to trim their active rosters
to 53 players by 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 30. The majority of the guys who light up the waiver wire will be undrafted free agents and former practice squad regulars. That doesn't mean there won't be a few big names in the mix.Well, "big" is a relative term. We've already seen one former high profile prospect (Trey Benson) and a formerly reliable veteran (Will Harris) jettisoned this August. Soon they'll be joined by a cast of "remember some guys" all-stars. Not every team will fold a recognizable NFL name into their cut lists. Some will be traded to needy
teams instead. But here's one release or trade candidate from each franchise, starting at the top of the alphabet.
All salary cap savings data come from Over the Cap.
Arizona Cardinals: RB Trey Benson
Salary cap savings: $1,345,874
After signing Tyler Allgeier and drafting Jeremiyah Love third overall, there was simply too much competition at running back for Benson — and possibly James Conner, if Arizona can find a willing taker in trade discussions. The former third-round pick is only 24 years old. He's averaged 0.7 rush yards over expected (RYOE) per carry in his career. But he's also only played 16 games in two seasons due to injury and was waived in the days leading up to this article with an injury designation.
Atlanta Falcons: QB Cooper Rush
Salary cap savings: $1,075,000
The Falcons will likely keep two active roster QBs in Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa. That could leave Rush on the outside looking in. Given his performance in 2025 (and in the team's preseason opener), it's probably a reasonable choice. Atlanta could opt for Division II star Jack Strand as its emergency quarterback in a developmental role rather than another veteran.
Baltimore Ravens: EDGE Adisa Isaac
Salary cap savings: $1,308,458
Baltimore could opt to part ways with safety K'Von Wallace, who currently projects as the team's fifth safety. But Isaac could be in similarly dire straits. The former third round pick has only played in three NFL games thanks to injury. He failed to record a pressure across 19 pass rushing reps. He's currently fifth or sixth in the edge rusher pecking order and may have to rely on his special teams production to earn another chance on the 53-man roster.
Buffalo Bills: EDGE Mike Danna
Salary cap savings: $0
There are a few modestly recognizable veterans who could fail to make the Bills roster, including Mecole Hardman, Sedrick Van-Pran Granger and Geno Stone. Danna won two Super Bowl rings with the Kansas City Chiefs and started 42 games the last three seasons, but he's struggled to break into Buffalo's pass rushing rotation this preseason.
Carolina Panthers: TE Darren Waller
Salary cap savings: $1,075,000
Carolina has one of the weakest tight end corps when it comes to making an impact in the passing game. Waller signed late in the offseason and has been brought along slowly, and since he's a long term veteran he can pass through to the practice squad without being subject to waivers. Thus, even if he's in the Panthers' 2026 plans — and with six touchdowns in 33 targets, he probably should be — he's likely to be cut before the deadline, added to the practice squad and then elevated as the team sorts out its subsequent roster moves as the season opener approaches.
Chicago Bears: CB Beanie Bishop
Salary cap savings: $1,005,000
The Bears are loaded with young guys who once looked like sound investments for the future but could be cut Sunday. I really thought Kiran Amegadjie and Roschon Johnson would shine in Chicago, and it's possible each winds up briefly unemployed on cut-down day.
Bishop is facing a three-game suspension for undisclosed reasons to start the season. After a four-interception rookie season in Pittsburgh, he'd already been released twice in the past 10 months. Despite the Bears' secondary needs, Bishop may not have a locker waiting for him this fall.
Cincinnati Bengals: QB Josh Johnson
Salary cap savings: $1,300,000
Given an influx of defensive line talent, B.J. Hill could be trade bait — too good to be released, but potentially bringing more value as draft assets in the future than as a rotational tackle in the present. That would also shave nearly $8.5 million from Cincinnati's cap sheet. Otherwise, Cincinnati could let its QB3 slide to the practice squad after reuniting with him 13 years after his first go-round in southwestern Ohio.
Cleveland Browns: WR Cedric Tillman
Salary cap savings: $3,674,000
Tillman was a third round pick in 2023 and made 10 starts last fall. That resulted in 21 catches, and the Browns made a point to add a new big bodied deep threat by drafting Denzel Boston with a top 40 selection. The guy who threw Tillman a bunch of those targets, Dillon Gabriel, could wind up on the chopping block as well.
Dallas Cowboys: EDGE Sam Williams
Salary cap savings: $500,000
Wideout Jonathan Mingo could be jettisoned, though doing so would admit the trade most folks thought was a bizarre mistake from Jerry Jones was, indeed, a bizarre mistake. Instead, Williams could be left out of a needy pass rush despite emerging as a useful passing down presence his first two seasons in the league. He missed 2024 with a torn ACL and saw his sack totals and pressure rate drop significantly in 2025. The preseason addition of Von Miller may have sealed his fate on the active roster.
Denver Broncos: LB Drew Sanders
Salary cap savings: $1,532,010
Evan Engram underwhelmed and, with his 32nd birthday approaching, probably isn't going to bounce back. Fortunately for him, Denver's lack of tight end depth and abundance of cap space leaves him on the roster.
Instead, 2026 could mark the end of Sanders' tenure in orange. The former third round pick is an athletic marvel, but his NFL career has been limited to 21 games and four starts in three seasons due to injury and ineffective play.
Detroit Lions: EDGE Payton Turner
Salary cap savings: $1,145,000
Juice Scruggs or Ben Bartch could wind up on the chopping block when center Cade Mays returns, but his preseason injury has granted them a reprieve for now. Instead, the biggest cut for the Lions may be Turner, the former first round pick who has played just 31 games as a pro — with only five sacks to show for it.
Green Bay Packers: CB Keisean Nixon
Salary cap savings: $5,000,000
Green Bay needs help in the secondary, especially over the opening weeks of the season where an iffy pass rush is without Micah Parsons. But while Nixon has steady special teams value, his coverage fell off in a bad way last year.
His passer rating allowed rose from 78.9 to 105.1. While neither Brandon Cisse nor Benjamin St. Juste are sure things, their arrival could lead to the veteran cornerback's departure.
Houston Texans: C Jake Andrews
Salary cap savings: $3,674,000
Keylan Rutledge earned the starting center spot. Evan Brown can also handle duties there. That means Andrews, despite 18 starts for the team last year, could be the latest expulsion from a revamped blocking corps.
Indianapolis Colts: RB DJ Giddens
Salary cap savings: $1,005,000
Giddens was a beast at Kansas State and looked like a savvy fifth round pickup in 2025. Then Jonathan Taylor returned to the elite ring of running backs and the rookie struggled, notching only 96 yards on 25 carries and failing to record a catch in nine games. Seventh round rookie Seth McGowan has worked his way up the depth chart in practice and undrafted free agent Anderson Castle has shined against fellow backups in preseason games.
Jacksonville Jaguars: RBs DeeJay Dallas and Ameer Abdullah
Salary cap savings: $2,000,000
Two guys with special teams chops who may be best known for being emergency, desperate fantasy pickups (that rarely panned out) are competing for a spot in a revamped running back room. It seems likely one or both wind up on the practice squad instead while spending most of their time with the kicking units. Otherwise, Jacksonville doesn't have much in terms of well known talent who'd be an obvious cut this August.
Kansas City Chiefs: CB Kaiir Elam
Salary cap savings: $1,275,000
Despite Kansas City's need for cornerback help after losing Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie (both, coincidentally, to the Los Angeles Rams), both Elam and Kader Kohou (58 NFL starts between them) could be shuffled to the practice squad this August.
Elam struggled in 2025 and hasn't made the impact the Chiefs hoped from the former first round pick. At only 25 years old, he still has potential to contribute — it just might not be in Missouri this fall.
Las Vegas Raiders: QB Aidan O'Connell
Salary cap savings: $3,674,000
The other AOC has trade value, so it's unlikely he'd be an outright cut — and if he is, he'd be one of the most popular names on the waiver wire. But the Raiders have their quarterback of the future in Fernando Mendoza. They have a veteran who can start now and provide high-level backup play (well, moderate level backup play, at least) in Kirk Cousins.
O'Connell's future in Las Vegas is murky. The Raiders can save some money — they rank 30th in cap space for 2026 — and pick up a draft asset by moving their QB3.
Los Angeles Chargers: CB Donte Jackson
Salary cap savings: $6,000,000
The Chargers have more than $40 million in cap space, so keeping a veteran presence like Jackson in the locker room wouldn't be an issue. But he's entering his age-31 season and appears to have ceded a starting role to Cam Hart after playing 59 percent of the team's defensive snaps last fall.
He's still got plenty of coverage chops, however, so this seems fairly unlikely. Otherwise, that cap situation suggests the team could easily absorb Trevor Penning's $3.5 million dead cap hit should the veteran lineman continue his proud tradition of underwhelming.
Los Angeles Rams: DL Larrell Murchison
Salary cap savings: $744,700
If the Rams spent foolishly and had obvious veteran cuts, they wouldn't be preseason Super Bowl favorites. Tyler Higbee will almost certainly make the team, but he's one of five viable tight ends on LA's depth chart. He's played only 13 games the last two seasons and averaged only 2.5 catches per contest in that stretch. But releasing him would be a net negative on the team's salary sheet, so it's more likely he plays out this fall before Los Angeles turns the position over to its cache of young studs.
Miami Dolphins: WR Tutu Atwell
Salary cap savings: $0
"Waived by the 2026 Miami Dolphins" is an epitaph no one wants on their NFL gravestone, but this could mark the effective end of the former second round pick. Atwell had just six catches in 10 games last season and 88 of his 192 yards came on a single play. Rookie Chris Bell's return to practice may have sealed Atwell's fate despite the Dolphins abject lack of reliable targets.
Minnesota Vikings: LB Ivan Pace
Salary cap savings: $3,520,000
Minnesota doesn't have many obvious cut candidates among its better known veterans. Pace still occupies a role for the Vikings, but his defensive snap count share went from 62 percent as an undrafted rookie sensation to 59 percent to just 30 percent last season. He'd leave no dead cap hit behind if released, and second round rookie Jake Golday's arrival may have dropped him further down defensive coordinator Brian Flores' wish list.
New England Patriots: LB Chad Muma
Salary cap savings: $1,240,000
Muma has failed to live up to his third round draft billing, leaving him with more special teams snaps than defensive ones in his career to date. Joining the Patriots felt like a natural fit — a Belichickian tarnished prospect playing under one of Belichick's former bargain pickup linebackers.
Instead, he's been outplayed by Christian Elliss and K.J. Britt in camp and will likely wind up on the practice squad. Elsewhere, we could see a moderately surprising Morgan Moses move if the team feels Caleb Lomu is ready to start at tackle, but it feels unlikely given how much blocking help the Patriots need and how many linemen have gotten hurt this preseason.
New Orleans Saints: QB Spencer Rattler
Salary cap savings: $1,075,000
Rattler has too much value to release. Instead, he could bring back a moderately valued (read: late) Day 3 pick after failing to separate himself from Zach Wilson in the battle for New Orleans' backup quarterback slot. I know that "value" and "looks like Zach Wilson" are two opposing statements, but Rattler showed utility as a useful reserve with room to grow in his first two seasons with the Saints.
New York Giants: OL Evan Neal
Salary cap savings: $1,075,000
Calvin Austin's torn ACL means Odell Beckham Jr.'s reunion in New York won't come to a frustrating end just yet. Instead, a former top 10 draft pick heads to the scrap heap.
Neal was once regarded as the safest offensive line pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He underwhelmed, got injured and signed a one-year veteran minimum deal last offseason to try and rebuild his value. But new head coach John Harbaugh and his new regime has no attachment to the young guard, which could end his career in northern New Jersey.
New York Jets: QBs Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook
Salary cap savings: $2,080,000
New York is happy enough about Cade Klubnik's prospects that they opted against a high-value backup behind Geno Smith — a quarterback who looked so broken in 2025 that a Plan B is a necessity. Zappe and Cook have 13 NFL starts between them, largely of the underwhelming variety. One, or possibly both, will slide to the practice squad as emergency options.
Philadelphia Eagles: QB Andy Dalton
Salary cap savings: $0
Tanner McKee is a valued backup general manager has reportedly dangled as trade bait with a high, Day 2 draft pick price. Cole Payton is a fourth round rookie with elite athleticism who will get time to adjust to the NFL after starring at North Dakota State. That may leave the elder statesman of the Philly quarterback room as the odd man out.
Dalton went 1-6 as a starter for the Carolina Panthers the last three seasons, but his 84.5 passer rating was only a slight dip from his career average. Expect Roseman to have the Red Rifle in trade talks as cutdown day approaches.
Pittsburgh Steelers: DL Dean Lowry
Salary cap savings: $1,075,000
Though Joey Porter Jr. isangling for a trade as extension negotiations ramp up, we'll assume Pittsburgh eventually comes to terms with him at a near top-of-market price or lets him twist in the wind in the final season of his rookie contract. Instead, let's turn to Lowry, an 11-year veteran who played only 21 percent of the team's defensive snaps in 2024 and missed all of 2025 with a torn ACL. Sixth round rookie Gabriel Rubio has looked better this preseason and the Steelers, building for an uncertain future, may choose him over a 32-year-old with waning production.
San Francisco 49ers: WR Brandon Aiyuk
Salary cap savings: $6,302,000
With $68 million in estimated cap space, the Niners don't have to be sticklers when it comes to savings. But Aiyuk has become a chaos goblin in the Bay Area, emerging from a torn ACL with a very public standoff that allowed the franchise to void much of the $120 million contract he signed in 2024. It's clear he'll never play another down for San Francisco; the only question is when general manager John Lynch will cut him loose.
Seattle Seahawks: CB Trevon Diggs
Salary cap savings: $1,215,000
Diggs and Noah Igbinoghene are competing for a depth spot in the Super Bowl champs' secondary. Both have fallen off from high expectations — Diggs after becoming an All-Pro and Igbinoghene after failing to live up to his first round pedigree. Igbinoghene is a year younger and had the better 2025, which suggests 2026 could be another stressful year for Diggs.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: WR David Sills V
Salary cap savings: $1,075,000
Sills was once a 14-year-old USC commit, then a West Virginia star (33 touchdown catches in 2017-18!) and is currently useful role player wide receiver. He faced an uphill battle amidst a reconfigured Tampa Bay receiving corps loaded with young, intriguing talent like Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, Tez Johnson and Ted Hurst III. He's spent more time on special teams this preseason, which could carve him out a roster spot — but he may be bound for someone's practice squad.
Tennessee Titans: RB Tyjae Spears
Salary cap savings: $3,674,000
The Titans' $45.4 million in estimated space is second only to the 49ers, which means they don't need to take drastic measures this August. There's financial value to cutting down the tailback rotation, as both Spears and Tony Pollard would generate seven-figure savings.
But while Pollard remains a useful veteran, Spears has failed to launch in Nashville. He's recorded a negative rush yards over expected (RYOE) in each of his three seasons as a pro. He's recorded a negative expected points added (EPA) when targeted in the passing game in each of his three seasons as a pro. With two recent Day 3 draftees on the roster (Nicholas Singleton, Kalel Mullings), it could be time for a fresh start.
Washington Commanders: S Will Harris
Salary cap savings: $3,760,000
Washington's underwhelming defense added an array of veteran help this offseason. That includes Nick Cross, who made Harris redundant. The veteran safety made nine starts last season but gave up a 117.2 passer rating as the closest defender in coverage and has recorded a missed tackle rate in the double digits in each of the last three seasons. Harris was released after the team's second preseason game.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: 1 potential NFL cut or trade candidate from all 32 teams
