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AIPROPX ReportCBS Sports · 1h ago
NFL veterans on the chopping block: These 20 players could be among roster-cut casualties
When NFL teams trim their rosters to 53 players this weekend, most of the casualties will be journeyman backups, undrafted free agents and other youngsters who have not yet latched on with a franchise.
But every year, a few big names get thrown into that category, too. Late-career veterans seeking one more season before hanging up their cleats are often just as vulnerable as unheralded first-year professionals.
When former Pro Bowlers fail to make the cut in the coming days, they may still have chances to sign elsewhere and go out on their own terms. And when former first-round picks receive bad news, perhaps another team will take a shot on them, hoping to unlock the breakout season that eluded them in the opening years of what were supposed to be illustrious careers.
Roster cutdown season is no fun for anyone, but for these big-name veterans, it may be especially difficult to come to terms with the fact that their football days could be nearing an end.
Here are 20 notable veterans at risk of being cut.
The path for Odell Beckham Jr . to appear in regular-season games for the Giants for the first time since 2018 became clearer Tuesday when Calvin Austin III sustained a serious knee injury .
It is still an uphill battle for the three-time Pro Bowler to stay on the right side of the cut line, especially since he is far from the same receiver who starred early in his career in New York.
At 33 and nearly two years removed from his last NFL snap, he might not have much more to give. It would be excellent theater, though, for Beckham to close his career with one more season where it all began.
Evan Neal did not stick at tackle, where he arrived as the No. 7 overall pick in 2022. Instead, he is seeking to remake himself as a guard. The Giants declined the option in his rookie contract, but he ended up re-signing with them on a veteran minimum deal this spring.
His value has tanked, and there is a new coaching staff in place, so it is entirely possible that Neal goes from a highly touted potential cornerstone tackle to an afterthought on the interior in just four years.
The unretirement tour continues for Darren Waller . Will it carry into the regular season, though?
He joined the Panthers during training camp as another option in a tight end group that disappointed in 2025, but he does not bring much upside himself as a 34-year-old whose best season is now six years in the rearview.
Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans are the top two options, so the question is whether there is room for both Ja'Tavion Sanders and Waller.
Three Super Bowl titles and an All-Pro selection as a rookie give Mecole Hardman Jr. an illustrious résumé for someone on the roster bubble.
His prime was short-lived, though, coming in the first four years of his career. Hardman has not scored a touchdown since 2022 and played two games for the Bills last year only because they were desperate enough at wide receiver to elevate him from the practice squad.
The Texans pulled off a masterful trade Monday for Kayshon Boutte , filling a major need in the receiving unit while also putting Sterling Shepard 's job at risk.
Shepard arrived just a couple of days earlier as a potential replacement for the injured Jayden Higgins , who tore his ACL during a joint practice and is out for the year. Nico Collins , Tank Dell , Jaylin Noel , Xavier Hutchinson and now Boutte are all ahead of Shepard in the pecking order, so his stay in Houston might be extremely short-lived.
Seven years after he won a Super Bowl in Kansas City, Emmanuel Ogbah is back -- for a couple of weeks during training camp, at least.
The former No. 32 overall pick had a handful of nice years with the Dolphins following that championship season, including back-to-back campaigns with nine sacks.
But even on a Chiefs team that needs to be better at pressuring the pocket in 2026, the summer acquisition is no guarantee to stick around into the regular season.
The Cowboys picked up journeyman receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling after the draft as a depth option in an already loaded receiving unit.
His outlook as an impact player was bleak at the time of signing, given that he is coming off the worst year of his career -- a 120-yard campaign over 10 games with two teams -- and the Cowboys already have a clear top four in their wideout corps. There are probably not enough scraps left to pick up behind CeeDee Lamb , George Pickens and the rest.
Brutal injury luck disrupted Tim Patrick 's career. After he broke out with the Broncos with consecutive 700-yard, five-touchdown seasons, he missed each of the next two years with ACL and Achilles injuries. To his credit, he bounced back to play in 32 games over the past two seasons with the Lions and Jaguars .
His comeback story might reach a roadblock in New York, but if it does, another team ought to grab him and see if there is anything left in the tank.
Despite his status as a 2023 first-round pick, Mazi Smith is already on his second team and could shortly be searching for a third.
The Cowboys made him a healthy scratch multiple times and moved on from him in just his third year when they traded him to the Jets as part of the Quinnen Williams deal.
New York did not have much use for him, either. And following a host of defensive moves this offseason, the Jets have a new-look defense that might not include Smith.
There was a brief period when Will Levis was supposed to be the Titans ' franchise quarterback. Three years after Tennessee made him the first player off the board on Day 2 of the 2023 draft, he could be out the door.
It comes down to whether the Titans will carry two quarterbacks or three. Cam Ward is the face of the franchise, and Mitchell Trubisky is the clear choice to be his backup given his familiarity with Brian Daboll's scheme. If this first-year staff only wants two quarterbacks, the Levis experience is over.
He never reached the level expected of him as the No. 23 overall pick, but credit ...
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