NFL roster cutdown tracker and live updates: Deadline time, cuts today, roster projections and preseason news (2024)

NFL roster cutdown day is here.

With the preseason ending Sunday evening, teams must trim its rosters from 90 to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET today. While some have already started, others will make plenty of moves ahead of today’s deadline.

What moves will your favorite team make? Which surprise players make the cut? Which surprises get released?

The Athletic's NFL beat reporters have all the coverage, analysis and roster projections as the start of the 2024 season comes into focus. Be sure to stay tuned here and refresh this live blog for the latest. And catch up on league happenings from last week here.

Required reading

What to know about roster cutdown day

Preseason Week 3 scores and schedule

2024 fantasy football draft kit

NFL Projection Model, AFC win totals

NFL Projection Model, NFC win totals

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HENDERSON, Nev. — The Raiders cut defensive tackle Byron Young, according to a team source. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport was the first to report the news.

Young was drafted by the Raiders' previous regime with pick No. 70 in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He appeared in just six games and played merely 99 defensive snaps last year. During training camp, he admitted that he came into his rookie season overweight and feeling entitled to having a role on the team.

Young said he changed his mindset and lost weight this offseason in response and felt he was making progress, but he ultimately wasn't able to translate that to games during the preseason. He wasn't effective as a pass rusher and was frequently pushed back in the run game.

To replace Young, the Raiders claimed defensive tackle Jonah Laulu off waivers Wednesday. Laulu was a seventh-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts earlier this year. After transferring from Hawaii to Oklahoma in 2022, he spent his last two college seasons as a rotational defensive lineman.

Laulu is from Las Vegas and visited the Raiders for their "local day" workout before the draft. The coaching staff was impressed by his size, length, hand usage and motor.

The Raiders have a strong defensive tackle trio of Christian Wilkins, John Jenkins and Adam Butler, but the depth behind them is questionable. That's partially because of their poor drafting at the position as of late. They cut 2022 fifth-round pick Matthew Butler on Tuesday, traded 2022 fourth-round pick Neil Farrell Jr. last year and now cut a third-round pick from last year in Young. They'll need Laulu or Nesta Jade Silvera to step up.

There were no real surprises when the Baltimore Ravens’ initial 53-man roster was ultimately revealed Tuesday evening.

They kept only two quarterbacks, which seemed like a formality with how much rookie sixth-round pick Devin Leary struggled in the preseason finale against the Green Bay Packers. Rookie fifth-round pick Rasheen Ali was slotted into the No. 3 running back role, an expected result after Owen Wright fractured his foot over the weekend at Lambeau Field.

The Ravens opted for 10 offensive linemen and 11 defensive backs, wanting to keep more bodies at positions where they’ve been hit hard by injuries in recent years. Special teams, as always, was a factor in building out the back end of the roster as rookie safeties Sanoussi Kane and Beau Brade earned spots.

Eight of Baltimore’s nine rookie draft picks made the team, the exception being Leary. For the 20th time in 21 seasons, the Ravens kept an undrafted free agent on their initial 53-man roster. Brade, a local product who grew up a Ravens fan and played his college ball at Maryland, fittingly got the nod.

It’s a roster that is deep in some areas, most notably cornerback, but it leaves you asking in others, what’s next? The regular-season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs is now just over a week away.

Read more here.

Who were among the most surprising cuts from Tuesday?

Cleveland Browns

Germain Ifedi, OL

The Browns signed Ifedi in April for insurance, and it’s possible — even likely — that he will be back with the team in some capacity soon. But his release Tuesday was a surprise because he’d spent the last week-plus as the starting left tackle, and even with Jack Conklin back to practice Tuesday, there’s nothing settled at the position. Ifedi has mostly been a guard and right tackle in his career, and the Browns plan to have Jedrick Wills Jr. back at left tackle sooner than later. With nothing settled or certain, though, it’s interesting that Ifedi wasn’t among the Browns’ initial 53. — Zac Jackson

Detroit Lions

Nate Sudfeld, QB

The way the Lions talked about Sudfeld led many to believe they could go with three QBs on the roster. Campbell said Sudfeld had the “upper hand” to be Detroit’s QB2 as recently as last week. He was viewed as their experienced option and was more consistent than Hooker in practice. And though Sudfeld certainly didn’t pass the eye test in the preseason, comments like those usually carry weight with this staff. In the end, though, Sudfeld was left off the initial roster. We’ll see if he’s brought back in some capacity. Worth noting: If veteran DT Kyle Peko isn’t back on the roster in the coming days, he’d be a stronger candidate for surprise cut than Sudfeld. — Colton Pouncy

Kansas City Chiefs

Kadarius Toney, WR

Last year, the Chiefs started training camp with Toney as their projected No. 1 receiver. But following a disastrous 2023 season, one that ended with him not in uniform during the team’s Super Bowl run, Toney’s chances of making the Chiefs’ initial roster for this season were pretty slim. He missed a decent amount of time in training camp with ankle and back injuries, and his first snap of the preseason against the Lions was dreadful: He committed two penalties, as he covered tight end Irv Smith Jr. on the line of scrimmage and then held cornerback Khalil Dorsey while trying to block on the perimeter for running back Deneric Prince. When the Chiefs signed veteran receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to their roster Monday, it all but assured that Toney’s time in Kansas City was over. — Nate Taylor

Read more here.

Liev Schreiber voice: The fourth episode of “Hard Knocks” is a lot like the fourth preseason game: it’s on the schedule and it has to be played.

So let’s meditate with our singing bowls, turn up the Chief Keef and move on to the reviews.

Overall takeaways

Jon Greenberg: This wasn’t the most exciting episode of television I’ve ever seen, but it had plenty of pathos, courtesy of Adrian Colbert’s childhood car accident story and Ian Wheeler’s untimely knee injury. It had some humor courtesy of running backs coaches Chad Morton and Jennifer King and the three Bears’ backup QBs (two-thirds of whom were cut Tuesday). It also had some arm wrestling, courtesy of Travis Bagent.

Wheeler performing Chief Keef’s classic “Faneto” was a fun moment. How often do you see a shirtless future doctor signing a drill music classic in front of a bunch of millionaires?

But while the episode was pretty boring up to a point, watching Wheeler and his mom deal with his ACL tear in the Chiefs’ game was tough and it provided a telling glimpse into the life of a fringe player trying to make an NFL team, which is obviously a big part of the show’s formula. Credit the producers for staying with what must’ve been the longest sad, post-injury hug in “Hard Knocks” history. Wheeler seems like a great guy and now the formerly anonymous running back has a lot of fans. Bears general manager Ryan Poles’ talk with Wheeler in his office was a meaningful moment.

Kevin Fishbain: It can be brutal to watch, but the way that “Hard Knocks” shows the human side of the game is one of its best features. We get so programmed in the transactional nature of the sport. “Ian Wheeler was placed on IR with a torn ACL,” and then you move on, but HBO allowed us in to see his journey, the emotional moment with his mother and something the Bears are proud of, how the man in charge will be there for an undrafted rookie on injured reserve.

What I loved from last week — getting to see inside moments we already knew about — was an unfortunate omission this week. When Gervon Dexter tackled Wheeler to the ground, there was a pretty big dust-up. We barely saw it. The next play in that sequence led to the only fight of training camp. Maybe there were too many curse words that HBO had to bleep out to show it? Maybe the Bears didn’t want it in, because — and it’s true — it’s not reflective of all of the camp. But we saw some fireworks that day, and unless they’re saving it for the finale, I’m surprised it didn’t make it.

Similarly, we saw Gerald Everett’s touchdown at the end of that same practice, but only through the perspective of the backup quarterbacks’ celebration, not the coaches arguing over inbounds versus out of bounds.

FRISCO, Texas — The loudest cheer happened when CeeDee Lamb was announced to the crowd Tuesday night inside the Ford Center. The Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver was back with his teammates just in time for the first training camp practice at the franchise’s headquarters.

Lamb was in uniform for the non-padded practice. He participated in individual drills, catching passes from franchise quarterback Dak Prescott. Lamb did not take part in the seven-on-seven portion as the team works to ramp up his workload as he returns from his contract holdout.

Lamb signed his four-year, $136 million contract extension with $100 million guaranteed on Tuesday. He did not attend organized team activities, minicamp or the five weeks of training camp practices in California. Tuesday was the first time he was back in the facility with his teammates since January.

“I can’t really put it into words,” Lamb said. “I tell them I’m grateful to be here every moment of the day. This whole process was very crazy for me, as we all know. Very bittersweet.”

Read more here.

This is a decision that just made common sense. The Eagles simply don’t have enough depth at safety right now to dispatch a player new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has grown to like. Sydney Brown is still rehabbing from his season-ending ACL injury, and training camp pickup Caden Sterns, who was still returning from a patella injury, never saw the field.

Bradberry, 31, is still playing under a three-year, $38 million contract in which his 2024 base salary is guaranteed. That financial leverage is partly why the 2020 Pro Bowler felt secure enough to request a position change to safety after regressing at outside cornerback in 2023. A trade helps the Eagles most in alleviating any cap hit, and, as of now, the organization has not found a partner willing to make a deal.

It’s also possible Bradberry, who struggled at times adapting to safety in the preseason, isn’t the team’s best backup option while it awaits Brown’s return. Tristin McCollum, who spent the majority of 2023 on the practice squad, made his first 53-man roster. McCollum was targeted nine times on 81 coverage snaps in the preseason, according to Pro Football Focus, and, of six completions against him, surrendered 9.8 yards per reception.

“Tristan obviously flashed in games and did some really good things in games that we all saw, right?” Sirianni said. “But also, he was consistent in practice and the things that he did in practice. And you know, he has great athletic ability that can help on special teams and we know how he can affect the game on special teams as well.”

Tommy DeVito survived as the team’s third quarterback, although Daboll remained non-committal on the Giants’ plans with the former undrafted free agent. It seems likely they will stick with DeVito based on his experience in the system combined with starter Daniel Jones’ injury history and backup Drew Lock’s oblique injury. Lock participated in the brief period of practice that was open to the media Tuesday, so he appears on track to be ready for the Sept. 8 opener against the Vikings.

Undrafted rookie running back Dante Miller became a fan favorite in camp with speed befitting his “Turbo” nickname. But Miller has very little college film, so the Giants should be able to pass him through waivers onto the practice squad. The Giants will roll with Devin Singletary, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Eric Gray in the backfield.

Wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton was one of the biggest surprises to make the roster. Ford-Wheaton was in line for a roster spot last year as an undrafted rookie before tearing his ACL in the preseason finale. His camp wasn’t as strong this year, but he still managed to beat out veteran receiver Miles Boykin for a special teams role. Boykin arrived with a reputation as an accomplished special teamer, and he was a starter on the core four units for most of the summer.

Wide receiver Gunner Olszewski apparently won the returner job over Isaiah McKenzie despite being sidelined by a groin injury for the last week of the preseason. Olszewski worked on the side with trainers during Tuesday’s light practice, so there’s at least a chance he could be ready for the opener. The Giants announced that McKenzie was placed on season-ending IR due to a foot injury, although a league source said he’ll eventually be released with an injury settlement.

Read more from this story here.

The Athletic has one thought/takeaway on each player who made the roster cut for the Rams. Rams coach Sean McVay addressed the team trading LB Ernest Jones on Tuesday. "He was really impressive for us in what he did," McVay said.

Read more here.

We’ll start with Nate Sudfeld, a polarizing player. The average fan isn’t around for every day of training camp, but Sudfeld was the more consistent backup QB for the majority of the spring and summer. The coaching staff loves Sudfeld’s IQ, experience and veteran status. He’s a calming presence in a room that would otherwise consist of Goff and Hooker — a second-year QB still trying to navigate life in the NFL. For those reasons, and comments from Campbell himself, it sure sounded like Sudfeld would be on the team. Even if it meant cutting ties with a more talented, useful player elsewhere.

“You have to have conviction that whoever that guy is is going to be able to keep this ship afloat,” Campbell said of the backup job. “And what we know about Hooker is, Hooker is a young developing quarterback and he needs reps and he needs time. I do know that. And Nate right now has the upper hand because he’s played more. He’s been in it more, he’s seen it more, he just — and so with that, that would tell you there’s a good chance you could keep three. Am I going to say that’s 100 percent certain right now? No. But that’s kind of what you look at.”

Turns out, the Lions won’t keep three QBs. At least not right now. It’s possible the Lions are just making the numbers work and have an agreement in place to bring Sudfeld back into the mix in some capacity — perhaps the practice squad. But for now, he’s off the roster. Hooker looked far better in the preseason and should continue to be developed as Goff’s backup.

Veteran DL Kyle Peko did not make the initial 53-man roster. Again, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him back in the fold, considering the roster currently has just four true defensive tackles. More on that later. At edge, Mitchell Agude and Isaac Ukwu didn’t make the cut despite catching Campbell’s eye. That position’s looking a bit thin at the moment, but perhaps the Lions are comfortable knowing they kick Onwuzurike and Wingo out to edge on occasion.

Elsewhere, the Lions waived James Mitchell and Shane Zylstra. Zylstra looked like one of the top 3 tight ends in practice in terms of pure receiving. However, his blocking was less than ideal. Mitchell did not flash this summer. In the end, the Lions valued the blocking and versatility of Hesse over the others.

It wasn’t a surprise to see the Lions part ways with Donovan Peoples-Jones, Daurice Fountain or Kaden Davis — the top three contenders for the WR3 job. Even prior to the news of Patrick’s arrival, there was a growing sense that the Lions could opt to roll with just four receivers on the initial 53-man roster while adding a fifth from another team. Those four receivers ended up being St. Brown, Williams, Raymond and Isaiah Williams.

And finally, in long-snapping news, the Lions went with the upside option in Hogan Hatten over veteran Scott Daly. As mentioned in previous roster projections, this was the second year in a row the Lions have had a long snapper competition in training camp. That’s not common. And it doesn’t typically bode well for the incumbent.

Read more here.

The Athletic's Bengals cutdown day takeaways has the biggest being good Ja'Marr Chase news Tuesday rather than who was cut. Also, keep an eye on running back and defensive tackle as Cincinnati now looks to the waiver wire to address needs.

Read more here.

The NFL implemented a new rule this year that allows teams to put two players on injured reserve on roster cut day with the chance for them to return during the regular season. Those two players also do not count against a team’s initial 53-man roster. Indianapolis did not use one of those extra spots on Woods and instead selected starting defensive end Samson Ebukam, who tallied a team-high 9.5 sacks last year, and reserve linebacker Cameron McGrone.

Ebukam tore his Achilles on July 28, the Colts’ third day of training camp, yet the team is hoping he’ll have a chance to return late in the season. It’s a long shot but still within the realm of possibilities. Consider the remarkable comeback of then-Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers (now with the Houston Texans). Akers tore his Achilles in July 2021 and returned for a Week 18 game in January 2022. Akers remained in the Rams’ rotation during their run to a Super Bowl title.

Read more here.

The San Francisco 49ers cut their roster from 90 to 53 players Tuesday, but their work clearly isn't done. The team will almost certainly be making more moves Wednesday, after a full day has accrued and players like cornerback Ambry Thomas — who made the initial 53-man with a broken forearm — can head to injured reserve with their eligibility to return this season preserved.

The first draft of the roster includes two players who haven't taken part in a single practice this season — receiver Brandon Aiyuk, whose contract situation continues to confound the team, and safety Talanoa Hufanga, who was activated from the physically unable to perform list Tuesday. It does not include tackle Trent Williams, although there is a gaping hole for him on the depth chart.

The Athletic has more on the Chargers' initial 53-man roster, where Easton Stick is the backup QB ... for now. The Chargers figure to heavily monitor the waiver wire and trade market in the coming days to try to upgrade behind Justin Herbert.

Read more here.

The Las Vegas Raiders’ backup receiver positions really were wide open, with Tyreik McAllister and Ramel Keyton both using big games Friday night to beat out veterans Jalen Guyton and Kristian Wilkerson for roster spots. Those were the most notable of the moves that general manager Tom Telesco made as the team cut the roster down to 53 players on Tuesday.

McAllister, a converted running back, scored two touchdowns — including one on an 81-yard punt return — in the preseason finale tie with the San Francisco 49ers. Keyton, an undrafted rookie out of Tennessee, added several circus catches late in the game to put himself on the radar.

Guyton was penciled in for a roster spot by many because he was Telesco’s guy from their days together with the Los Angeles Chargers, while Wilkerson is a physical receiver who had a really good training camp in Costa Mesa, Calif. But in the end, youth was served.

Telesco said Tuesday afternoon that McAllister and Keyton “both showed slow and steady improvement. There’s some skill there to work with.” He also gave assistant GM Champ Kelly a tip of the cap for signing McAllister from the CFL before Telesco was hired.

Undrafted rookie Amari Gainer also earned a spot as the Raiders kept a whopping seven linebackers. That could change quickly, as Telesco called the 53-man roster “a starting point” and said the front office plans to be busy working the waiver wire over the next 24 hours.

Here’s a look at the roster as it stands now.

Tuesday’s Cleveland Browns practice might have been the first — and last — in NFL history with four quarterbacks and just two running backs and two tight ends on the field.

Strange things happen as teams go through roster deadline gymnastics, and Tuesday was the final call to get rosters to the regular-season size of 53. More moves are coming over the next two days, with waivers being processed Wednesday and practice squads across the league able to be formally constructed afterward.

What’s done for now is the Browns’ initial 53-man roster, and in no way is it the final roster for the Sept. 8 opener. They trimmed to just two running backs Tuesday when they cut D’Onta Foreman and finalized expected moves to keep Nick Chubb on the physically unable to perform list and Nyheim Hines on the non-football injury list. Jerome Ford is the starter for now, Pierre Strong Jr. is next in line and the team will either add another running back later this week or bring Foreman back — and potentially both if Foreman lands back on the practice squad. Chubb and Hines will be out for at least the season’s first four games.

There were some mild surprises among the moves the Browns made to get to the 53-man limit with Foreman and Germain Ifedi, who was most recently first in line at left tackle, being released. Probably most surprising was Cleveland keeping all four quarterbacks it’s had on the roster since March.

The team had pretty much conceded it would keep either Tyler Huntley or Dorian Thompson-Robinson behind starter Deshaun Watson and primary backup Jameis Winston. Probably most likely is the Browns move on from either Huntley or Thompson-Robinson after making an addition at another position in the coming days, though there’s a chance they could hold all four in hopes of la

Read more analysis here.

The Bills decided to go with five wide receivers once again after spending the entire 2023 season keeping only five. With how training camp unfolded at receiver, the top five of Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins and Marquez Valdes-Scantling were clear. The bigger question was if another receiver compelled them enough to keep a sixth. Tyrell Shavers was close to getting it done, likely one of the last to be left off the final roster.

The Shavers spot ultimately went to a different position. Should he pass through waivers, he’ll likely be a priority addition to the practice squad. KJ Hamler lost the return job after a series of plays in which he displayed ball security issues. The Shorter experiment is over for now, and it remains to be seen if the Bills want the 2023 fifth-round pick on their practice squad.

Before looking forward to the Washington Commanders’ initial 53-man roster, we must look back at the previous years, even if nobody should be subjected to such carnage.

New general manager Adam Peters really, really did not like the roster he inherited from the previous regime led by former coach Ron Rivera. Washington retained a handful of the team’s free agents this offseason, primarily backups or players on the roster fringe. Some holdovers were released this summer, but the purge intensified on Tuesday.

The Commanders trimmed their roster from 90 to 53 players (not including an International Pathway program member) by the league’s 4 p.m. deadline. They did so by jettisoning another bushel of players acquired over the previous four years. More could come. Washington holds the second spot in the league waiver wire, which will run at noon on Wednesday, and won’t be idling watching.

The recent drafts’ misses highlight the talent shortage on the roster before Peters began the makeover.

Read more thoughts here.

The Athletic has one note on each of the 53 players on the Jets' initial roster. From 10 offensive linemen to three undrafted defensive linemen, a look at the 2024 Jets.

Read more here.

Though Taylor Heinicke was one of the most surprising names on the 53-man roster, defensive back Kevin King was clearly the most surprising name on the cut list. The No. 33 pick in the 2017 draft by Green Bay, King started 42 games for the Packers before injuries put a halt to his career in 2021. He was attempting a comeback this year in Atlanta, where his former Green Bay secondary coach Jerry Gray is now the assistant head coach for defense, and for much of training camp, it looked like it would be a successful attempt.

King worked extensively with the second-team unit in practice and played outside cornerback, nickel, safety and dime linebacker at times.

“If he’s on this team, you’ll see a guy who can make some plays,” Gray said. “He’s got great ball skills. I like him because I know what he can do. Now he has to go prove it to everybody else.”

In the end, though, the Falcons kept only five cornerbacks, costing King his chance to make the 53-man roster at least for now. If he is not picked up by another team, he can return later this week as a member of the practice squad.

Read more here.