RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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All 32 squads cut down to their 53-man rosters on Sunday. A handful of teams made some rather surprising moves, on top of a twist in Josh Jacobs’ ongoing legal situation. These are the 10 biggest storylines from roster cutdown day.
Josh Jacobs placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List
Jacobs was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List and can remain there for as long as the NFL intends to conduct its own investigation into the two misdemeanor offenses he was charged with as the result of an altercation with a woman in May. The league’s standard policy for this type of incident is six games, though it can increase based on aggravating circumstances. According to the collective bargaining agreement, time spent on the commissioner’s exempt list is credited toward any suspension that is later imposed, provided the player "return and shall have no further right to any salary for the games for which he was paid while on the commissioner exempt list that were credited to the suspension.” In layman’s terms, Jacobs could be credited with “time served” if he is on the exempt list during the season and a suspension is later handed out. It would not be shocking for the team to cut him outright either. Jacobs ranked 37th in rush yards over expected last year. He was not efficient. His calling card was reliability, which is now out the window. The Packers could very reasonably see Jacobs as a net negative for the team given his character concerns.
In the meantime, Marshawn Lloyd will serve as the Packers’ starting running back. Lloyd has had an excellent, and more importantly, healthy offseason. Lloyd may be fated to give the starting job back to Jacobs if he does return midseason, but he profiled as a dynamic change-of-pace option coming out of USC. Lloyd only ran the ball 116 times in his final season of college ball, but at 7.1 yards per carry, he turned that workload into 820 yards on the ground. Lloyd also averaged 17.8 yards per catch, going for 232 yards on just 13 grabs. If he succeeds early in the season, it’s hard to imagine the team putting him back on ice even if Jacobs is back.
Packers trade for Kaleb Johnson
Green Bay got out ahead of the Jacobs news by trading for Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson. The team was ready to throw in the towel on the 2024 third-round pick, so the Packers scooped him up for a 2028 sixth-round selection. Johnson was a workhorse in college, posting a 241-1,547-21 rushing line in his junior season. Obviously, none of that production has translated into success in the pros, but a change of scenery could be what the young back needs. He could be in the mix with Lloyd once he gets a grip on the playbook, though redraft managers can hold off on drafting him for now.
Cowboys make a surprise cut
The Cowboys threw in the towel on every slappy’s favorite sleeper Jaydon Blue. The former Texas back barely played as a rookie and drew poor off-field reviews in addition to his non-existent production. Despite earning praise throughout this offseason for turning his career around, Dallas couldn’t find a spot for him on their roster. They also cut Phil Mafah, leaving Malik Davis as the only backup to Javonte Williams. Davis is now one of the better handcuff bets in fantasy drafts and casual leagues may be extremely slow to catch up to such an obscure player. It will be worth watching the transaction wire over the next few days to see if Dallas retains one of Blue or Mafah on their practice squad. That would put a lid on any Davis hype.
Puka Nacua avoids the exempt list
Puka Nacua is not expected to be placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt before Week 1. That doesn’t mean he is out of the woods as far as a potential suspension is concerned, but it takes some risk off the table. He also returned to practice after missing multiple weeks with a groin issue. Nacua currently has an ADP of 4.9 on Yahoo. He out-scored every FLEX player but Christian McCaffrey last year despite missing one week. His per-game average of 23.4 PPR points bested Bijan Robinson by 1.6. With both the injury and suspension risk dying down, Nacua looks more and more like the rightful 1.02 every day.
James Conner lands on injured reserve
James Conner is still recovering from the season-ending ankle injury he suffered early in the 2025 season. He is now looking at a 12-month recovery if he plays the first week he is eligible to return from injured reserve, Week 5. At this point, fantasy managers should not count on him making any impact this year. With Jeremiyah Love also banged up, expect a healthy amount of touches for Tyler Allgeier early in the season. Allgeier made a living taking carries away from a top-10 draft pick in Atlanta. He’s set up to do even more of that in Arizona.
Tank Dell to miss the first four games of the season
Like Conner, Tank Dell is still recovering from a catastrophic injury and will not be eligible to play until Week 5. Dell suffered a multi-ligament knee injury in December of 2024. He’s now 21 months removed from the injury and is still unable to play football. The hope is that he continues to ramp up over the next month and is ready to play early in the season, but fantasy managers can’t count on month No. 22 being the answer. Expect the Texans to roll out Kayshon Boutte and one of Xavier Hutchinson or Jaylin Noel as their starter receivers in Week 1.
As expected, Jordyn Tyson heads to IR
Saints rookie wideout Jordyn Tyson will also miss at least the first four games of the year. Unlike the previous two players, he doesn’t have much of a shot at playing in Week 5. He is expected to miss two months with his never-ending hamstring woes. From the time that was reported, Tyson would be back in Week 6 or 7. The Saints travel overseas for an international game in Week 7 and then get a Week 8 bye. For a player dealing with hamstring issues that date back to his senior season in college, a speedy turnaround shouldn’t be in the cards. A Week 9 return is probably the s...
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