NFL Power Rankings: Breaking down the four tiers of teams this preseason
From teams battling for the No. 1 pick to those with Super Bowl hopes, Mackenzie Salmon breaks down the four tiers of teams in this year’s first edition of our NFL power rankings.
USA TODAY
For players on the NFL bubble, a phone call on Tuesday could bring very good news or very bad news.
That’s the reality as 32 teams cut down from 80 players to 53 at 4:00 PM ET, setting their initial regular season rosters and parting ways with hundreds of players in the process.
The process of reducing the squad is not always easy – there will be trades and roster maneuvering to account for injuries – but it is always difficult, just as it is a sign that the start of the season
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NFL PRESEASON TAKEAWAY: Joint practices, Deshaun Watson saga, QB situations
This year, franchises can re-sign 16 players, including more veterans than ever before, to practice squads starting Wednesday.
In the meantime, here are some of the league’s top players who were let go before Tuesday afternoon’s deadline.
He was set to enter his fourth NFL season with his sixth different team, but the Browns are the most recent team to move on from Rosen.
Even with Deshaun Watson suspended 11 games, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has named Jacoby Brissett as the interim starter until Watson returns in Week 13. Cleveland also has Josh Dobbs on the roster behind Watson and Brissett.
The 10th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Rosen, 25, lasted just one season with the Cardinals, the team that drafted him. He joined the Dolphins as a backup the following year. Since then, he has spent time as a reserve or on the practice squad with the Buccaneers, 49ers, Falcons and most recently the Browns.
— Lorenzo Reyes
Denver had a backup quarterback battle between Johnson and Brett Rypien, and Rypien, for now, came out on top. The Broncos could still look at who is available after Tuesday’s cut before finalizing who they will enter the regular season with starter Russell Wilson. Johnson is a veteran, so he’s free to sign anywhere, though Denver would love to have him back on their practice squad. The 36-year-old quarterback has been with 14 NFL teams during his career and told USA TODAY Sports late last week that the key to handling the uncertainty is, “For me, I just keep my strong faith, knowing that I will be everything. right. Just focus on the work and everything will take care of itself.”
— Parker Gabriel
Harris started 14 games in Philadelphia last year and before that started 47 games over six seasons for the Minnesota Vikings. Last year, he had 72 tackles (two for loss) to go along with one interception. Harris is an acquired veteran, so his release means he is a free agent instead of needing to clear waivers before signing with another team, or returning to the Eagles.
— Parker Gabriel
In a surprising move, the Bucs cut Ryan on Tuesday.
Ryan and Tom Brady were teammates on the New England Patriots. They won two Super Bowls in New England. In 2017, Ryan signed with the Tennessee Titans. He played three seasons at Tennessee before joining the New York Giants in 2020. The veteran defensive end reunited with Brady in Tampa Bay this offseason. He was competing for a backup defensive back job with the Bucs.
Entering his 10th season, Ryan has produced 705 tackles, 95 pass deflections and 18 interceptions in 140 career games (115 starts). The versatile defensive end has lined up as a safety and cornerback during his career.
– Tyler Dragon
A third-year receiver out of Minnesota, Johnson had 36 catches on 55 targets for 360 yards in 2021 but did not catch a touchdown. Still, Tampa letting him go, according to multiple reports, is a surprise. The Bucs have depth at the position, led by Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, plus offseason addition Julio Jones.
— Parker Gabriel
With star running back and reigning leader Jonathan Taylor and backup Nyheim Hines firmly entrenched on the depth chart, the Colts are moving on from 2018 Pro Bowl running back Phillip Lindsay. Indianapolis had signed Lindsay to a one-year deal in May, but he had struggled to find a point in Indianapolis, carrying the ball 16 times in the preseason for just 55 yards.
Lindsay, 28, played for two teams last season, the Texans and Dolphins. Houston released him in November before sticking with Miami for the final four games of the season. Overall, he rushed for 249 yards and a touchdown and also had 45 receiving yards and a receiving score. Lindsay was an undrafted rookie for the Denver Broncos, where he played his first three seasons. His most prolific campaign was his rookie year when he totaled 1,278 yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns.
— Lorenzo Reyes
The Vikings have released backup quarterback Kellen Mond, their 2021 third-round draft pick, a person familiar with the situation confirmed. The person requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly about the situation.
The move isn’t all that surprising after Mond struggled this preseason and the Vikings recently acquired Nick Mullens via trade from Oakland.
Mond was a draft pick of the previous regime, but he didn’t fit as well with the type of offense that new coach Kevin O’Connell wants to run. Mullens, meanwhile, played in a similar system with the 49ers and gives Minnesota a reserve with game experience, having started 17 games over four seasons.
— Mike Jones
Howard signed a one-year, $3 million-plus deal with Buffalo this offseason but will not make the team’s roster, according to multiple reports Tuesday morning. Howard caught 15 touchdowns and had 119 catches for 1,737 yards during his first five NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but had just 25 total catches in 21 games over the last two seasons. Howard was a first-round pick in 2017 out of the University of Alabama.
— Parker Gabriel
The veteran wide receiver was released Tuesday after catching a pass in the preseason. Gordon played in 12 games with Kansas City in 2021, catching five passes for 32 yards and a touchdown. The veteran wide receiver, of course, burst onto the scene in 2013 when he had 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns as a sophomore. From there, however, he was suspended multiple times for violations of the league’s substance abuse policy, and his best statistical season came in 2018 when he caught 40 passes for 720 yards and three scores in new england Gordon tweeted Tuesday: “Excited to see where the next part of my football journey takes me.”
— Parker Gabriel
Michel joined Miami in May on a one-year, $2.1 million deal after playing well for the Super Bowl champion Rams last year. The fifth-year back rushed for more than 900 yards in each of his first two professional seasons with the New England Patriots in 2018 and 2019 to go along with 13 total touchdowns. The Dolphins, however, will enter the regular season with a backfield led by Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert.
— Parker Gabriel
The 49ers are parting ways with Snead, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly about the situation.
The veteran wide receiver signed a one-year deal with the 49ers in early August and made quite the impression with the team. The 49ers have interest in signing Snead to their practice squad, a person close to the situation told USA TODAY Sports.
Snead entered the league in 2014 as an undrafted free agent. He has produced 279 receptions, 3,431 yards and 16 touchdowns in 95 career games with the Saints, Ravens, Panthers and Raiders.
— Tyler Dragon
Treadwell, a former first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings, was released Monday after catching 33 passes for 434 yards in Jacksonville last year. The Jags had an active Monday as they also traded wide receiver Laviska Shenault to Carolina. Treadwell (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) had his best year in 2021, but has just five career touchdowns in 70 games. Maybe another team will think they can get more out of him this fall.
— Parker Gabriel
A first-round pick out of Detroit in 2017, Davis had spent four of his five pro seasons with the Lions before being waived Monday. He started 41 games for the franchise in his first three seasons out of the University of Florida. But then he had just nine in 23 appearances over the past two seasons: 2020 with the New York Jets and last year in Detroit, when he had at least 25 tackles in nine games. The Lions have several options at inside linebacker, including Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes and sixth-round rookie Malcolm Rodriguez.
— Parker Gabriel
Johnson is leaving Buffalo. The Bills decided to cut Johnson after the team signed the veteran running back in March. The well-traveled running back spent his first four years in Cleveland before making stops in Houston, Miami and Buffalo.
The 2015 third-round pick has 530 carries for 2,261 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns in 96 career games.
Buffalo’s top running back options are expected to be Devin Singletary, Zack Moss and rookie James Cook.
— Tyler Dragon
Bears QB Nathan Peterman
The Bears informed Peterman they were cutting him, but the team would like him back on the practice squad, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly about the situation.
Peterman was originally drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 2017 draft. He played two seasons in Buffalo and spent two years with the Las Vegas Raiders before joining the Bears. He has 573 passing yards, three touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 10 career games. It is infamously known…