The NFL’s deadline for cutting rosters to 53 players has come and gone. Here are some of the biggest names released.

Cam Akers, Saints RB

After two Achilles injuries in his career — including one he tore before training camp in 2021 before returning the same season to help the Rams win the Super Bowl — Akers didn’t make the Saints’ final squad. Another team may want to bet on the 26-year-old still having something left in the tank.

Trent Brown, Texans OT

At one point a Super Bowl champion with the Patriots and later the highest-paid offensive lineman in the league, the 32-yearold Brown is a good bet for a team needing OL help on the waiver wire.

Tommy DeVito, Giants QB

Though many know him as a veritable Italian folk hero, DeVito actually wasn’t terrible when thrust into starting QB duties whether through injury or incompetence, going 3-5 with 1,358 passing yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions.

Greg Dulcich, Giants TE

Despite appearing to develop a rapport with rookie QB Jaxson Dart, Dulcich wasn’t one of the four tight ends the Giants rostered. Still just 25, he’ll likely find a place in a TE room this season.

Audric Estimé, Broncos RB

Considered by some a draft sleeper in 2024, Estimé got hurt this rookie season and it never came together for him in Denver, which drafted running back R.J. Harvey in the second round this past April. Someone else will take a chance on Estimé, who only turns 22 in September.

Clelin Ferrell, Commanders DE

The fourth overall pick of the 2019 draft will be looking for his fourth team after being cut from the Commanders. While he’ll likely never live up to his draft slotting, he has a place in an edge rusher rotation somewhere in the league.

Kenyon Green, Eagles G

Green was the player the Eagles got back in the C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade earlier this offseason, but the former first-round pick couldn’t make the team. Either he’s picked up on waivers or he gets more time on the practice squad with lauded Eagles OL coach Jeff Stoutland. Not a bad pair of outcomes.

Jake Haener, Saints QB

The odd man out of the Saints’ QB competition, with Spencer Rattler being named starter and rookie second-rounder Tyler Shough the backup. The 26-year-old has eight games of experience, including one start.

Mecole Hardman, Packers WR

The three-time Super Bowl champion, who caught the walk-off touchdown pass in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII, has struggled to catch on anywhere beside Kansas City. Maybe a reunion is in the works?

Hendon Hooker, Lions QB

A developmental project from the start, Hooker was selected by the Lions in the third round in 2023 while still rehabbing a torn ACL suffered in college. Now he has a chance at a fresh start. Might Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, his former passing game coordinator, be interested in working with him further?

Dustin Hopkins, Browns K

When Andre Szmyt kicked the game-winning field goal in the Browns’ preseason finale, the writing might have officially been on the wall for Hopkins, who shined in 2023 for Cleveland but struggled last season after signing a three-year contract extension.

Diontae Johnson, Browns WR

Johnson is now looking to join the sixth team of his career. Andrew Siciliano noted on Wednesday’s Inside Coverage that Johnson still moved well during Browns training camp, so maybe another team will take a chance on the 29-year-old?

Hunter Renfrow, Panthers WR

After taking a year off from the NFL in 2024, Renfrow is looking to catch on with another team. It won’t be the Panthers, but Renfrow doesn’t turn 30 until December and has 269 catches for 2,884 yards and 17 touchdowns in his career.

Desmond Ridder, Bengals QB

Ridder only turns 26 on Sunday, has started 18 NFL games and thrown for 4,002 yards and 16 touchdowns with 14 interceptions. He may never be even a middle-of-the-pack starter, but he could be a good depth piece somewhere.

Shilo Sanders, Buccaneers S

Though he doesn’t get the same level of attention as his brother, Sanders is looking to catch on in the NFL just the same. He’s older for a rookie (25), and his time with the Bucs did not end on a high note, but maybe another team is willing to take a shot.

Isaiah Simmons, Packers LB

Is Simmons a linebacker or defensive back? A third NFL team now has not quite figured that out, though some franchises value versatility more than others, and the 27-yearold former first-round pick might still have suitors around the league.

Cole Strange, Patriots OL

You may remember Bill Belichick selecting Strange late in the first round in 2022, when most projections had him as a Day 2 pick at best. Strange’s career was derailed a bit by a torn patellar tendon late in the 2023 season, but teams are always looking for OL help. And if Belichick once believed in him, why wouldn’t someone else?

Marquez Valdes- Scantling, Seahawks WR

He turns 31 this season, but Valdes-Scantling has shown an ability to carve out a role in two good ecosystems (Kansas City, Green Bay) and while the Bills released him last season, maybe another good one will come calling.

Robert Woods, Steelers WR Woods is probably nothing more than a WR3 or 4 at this point in his career, but he has 12 years of experience, a Super Bowl ring and a pair of 1,000yard seasons. Someone else will take a good long look at adding him.

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