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Cardinals LB Jarvis Jones
This could be all about the quarterbacks, except Bruce Arians came out and quashed any idea of Blaine Gabbert beating out Drew Stanton (cutting Stanton would save $2 million in cap space). Gabbert is a good bet to stick around on the roster to give Arizona plenty of Carson Palmer insurance, so instead let's focus on another former first-round pick, in this case Jones. The former Steeler has not played well in the preseason and could be released to save over $1 million in cap space.
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Falcons DE Brooks Reed
Don't take this as us believing Reed will get cut (although certainly some people reading this list will take it that way). It's really more a statement about the Falcons roster, which is really well constructed right now. There are a lot of highly paid offensive guys and a lot of really young defensive guys who aren't going anywhere. There is always a chance that Reed or even Adrian Clayborn, with the one who stays on the roster probably starting, end up being cut. The Falcons added more depth by drafting Takkarist McKinley with their first-round pick this year and actually have a surplus of defensive linemen. This does not seem likely however.
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Ravens RB Lorenzo Taliaferro
At one point over the last few years, Taliaferro looked like he might be a deep sleeper in fantasy, but at this point is probably only going to serve in a fullback role. And with the Ravens hemorrhaging bodies all throughout camp as one of the most unlucky teams when it comes to injury, running back might be a position where they can afford to gamble a bit (even though they already lost Kenneth Dixon to injury) and hope that Terrence West and Danny Woodhead can handle taking care of the load for everyone involved.
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Bills DT Kyle Williams
Look, at this point no one is safe in Buffalo based on the moves made by the new regime of Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott. Cutting Williams would be a pretty strong statement about how the front office wants to proceed in 2017, almost like driving a TANK onto a field and planting a flag. Williams was drafted by the Bills in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft and is one of the faces of the franchise. But letting him go would also save the Bills $6 million in cap space in the final year of his contract.
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Panthers K Graham Gano
The Panthers spent a seventh-round pick on kicker Harrison Butker, a smart kid (engineering degree from Georgia Tech!) with a big, accurate leg who has performed well in the kicking competition this offseason. There's a bigger reason why Gano might get shown the door: he has a $4 million salary and would only result in $750,000 in dead cap space. That's a nice little chunk of change to pick up by cutting a kicker, but the Panthers need to be sure that Butker can handle the headspace of being the primary kicker for a contender during his rookie season. It can be lonely out there.
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Bears OLB Lamarr Houston
We are going to find out a lot about where the Bears perceive themselves when the roster gets released, because Chicago has multiple candidates for getting cut when it comes to saving cash. Victor Cruz is probably a bigger name because of the wide receiver's previous success on the field, but he might also be needed now that Cameron Meredith is going to miss the year with a knee injury suffered in the preseason. Houston himself is coming off a pair of knee injuries and is owed $6.99 million this year, with the Bears able to create $6 million in cap space by cutting him. Houston's release might be a white-flag style signal out of Chicago.
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Bengals OT Eric Winston
A guy who found his way onto Joel Corry's excellent look at veteran's who could find themselves out of jobs, Winston is not necessarily about saving money so much as he is just stuck in a numbers game on the offensive line. The Bengals, who are notoriously frugal, could pick up $615,000 by cutting Winston, and there are already a ton of offensive linemen -- Cedric Ogbuehi, Clint Boling, Russell Bodine and Jake Fisher -- locked in. Trey Hopkins and Andre Smith are important pieces at the guard position, and the rest of the linemen on the roster are young guys.
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Browns QB Brock Osweiler
The legendary salary dump this offseason might survive only because he is a salary dump: the Browns have paid lip service to the idea of using Osweiler this season and it might simply be to avoid the ire of the NFL's league office, which would frown heavily on a team taking on terrible contracts simply to secure a draft pick. And maybe they do want Osweiler as insurance in case DeShone Kizer isn't ready for the starting job, but they ran Kevin Hogan out there last year and he has more upside than Osweiler anyway. Time to move on.
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Cowboys RB Alfred Morris
If Ezekiel Elliott's suspension ends up standing, there is not a great chance the Cowboys dump Morris, who might be a valuable piece during the six games that Elliott is missing (instead, it might be Ronnie Hillman getting the ax, although he might be gone anyway). Morris has a salary of $2.137 million and would free up over $1.5 million in cap space for the Cowboys if they ultimately decided to part ways with their third-string running back.
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Broncos S T.J. Ward
The hard-hitting safety is another one of those veteran names on the trading block who stands a chance of being released by his team if a deal doesn't work out with another team. Ward is set to make $5.75 million during the 2017 season, and by letting him go the Broncos would free up $4.5 million in cap space, although as Pete Prisco pointed out with me on the Pick Six Podcast, there might be some other guys in the secondary who would be less than enthused about Denver dumping one of the members of the No Fly Zone.
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Lions DT Haloti Ngata
Another very unlikely candidate to be released, especially with Ngata serving as a likely starter on the defensive line. But when you look at the money involved here it's not totally unreasonable: Ngata has not been the same player since arriving in Detroit, will be 34 years old in January and stands to hand the Lions a cap hit of $7.7 million this year, the sixth-highest figure on the team. Detroit would free up $5.7 million by releasing Ngata. This wouldn't go down as a popular move but, hey, this is a situation where we're looking at big numbers for guys who could be surprise cuts. Ngata absolutely qualifies.
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Packers TE Richard Rodgers
Not exactly the biggest name! But it would be too difficult to plug in Jahri Evans here with the guard slated to replace T.J. Lang in the starting lineup (Evans would save plenty of cap space), and the Packers are just a well-balanced team in terms of talent and contractual obligations. The tight end situation features Martellus Bennett and Lance Kendricks as well, and Rodgers has been injured and could free up almost $1.8 million in cap space.
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Texans QB Brandon Weeden
The Texans feel like a team that is absolutely going to carry three quarterbacks, thanks in large part to the uncertain situation at the position. Tom Savage is the unquestioned starter ... for now. But he's been injury prone in the past, and Bill O'Brien is not scared to utilize a quick hook when it comes to the signal caller for his offense. If he plugs in Deshaun Watson and the rookie struggles (or the position gets really dinged up), the Texans might want to have Weeden for insurance. Dumping the former first-round pick would save them $1.6 million in cap space however.
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Colts OLB Barkevious Mingo
The Colts would no doubt love to try and keep the former first-round pick on the roster, given the upside he theoretically still possesses. But the hard part here is that Indy is battling a ton of injuries to key players like Andrew Luck and Ryan Kelly and won't definitively have the roster room available to roster a previously unproductive pass rusher like Mingo. Releasing him would also free up $1.5 million in cap space.
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Jaguars RB T.J. Yeldon
No team in the NFL has as much invested in the running back position as the Jaguars, who spent an early pick on Yeldon recently, invested big free agent money in Chris Ivory and drafted Leonard Fournette with the No. 4 overall pick this year. Yeldon has struggled to really produce at the NFL level, although he offers the best pass-catching ability out of that group. Ivory would be a more sensible cut in terms of matching skills, but he would hit the Jags with a $7 million tag in terms of dead cap space, whereas Yeldon would free up just under $1 million in cap space.
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Chiefs OL Jah Reid
The Chiefs trade on Wednesday afternoon with the Browns to acquire former first-round pick Cameron Erving was a bit of a blockbuster in that Erving is a guy who was taken early by Cleveland a few years back. The effects will be a little more subtle on the Chiefs roster, and it's possible that Reid is the odd man out as a result. Set to cause a cap hit of $3.56 million this season, the Chiefs can free up $2.7 million in cap space by letting Reid go.
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Chargers QB Kellen Clemens
There is going to be one quarterback cut from this roster in all likelihood, with the Chargers playing chicken with Philip Rivers remaining healthy behind a questionable offensive line for a full season. (It was actually an annual game in San Diego, and now L.A. gets to see it play out.) Clemens is the guy who has been here for a while and the logic behind him being the odd man out is that Anthony Lynn loves Cardale Jones from their time together in Buffalo (it's why the Chargers traded for him), and cutting Clemens would be the move to save money, freeing up $615,000 for the Chargers in space.
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Rams QB Dan Orlovsky
Congratulations to Orlovsky for being the most notable name on the bubble here? The Rams are surprisingly stocked with either young talent or contracts that just aren't movable. They have committed to starting Jared Goff for the season and have Sean Mannion (a decent backup with a little bit of upside left) on the roster, which means they have minimal need for a veteran quarterback at this point. Orlovsky could get squeezed for another position and he would net the Rams about $600,000 in cap space.
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Dolphins CB Byron Maxwell
This felt like a decent possibility to occur before the Dolphins even got to Saturday after the release of Joe Haden by the Browns and the flirtation with Haden by multiple players from the Fins roster. Miami would have needed to move on from Maxwell to make it happen, so now it's a lot less likely. Maxwell has an $8 million cap hit this season and his release would free up $3.5 million in cap space, and it's not likely he's serving as a lockdown corner for Miami, although the numbers at this point might require him to remain on the roster.
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Vikings DT Datone Jones
The Vikings signed Jones this offseason, which would be a difficult pill to swallow if they were forced to cut him, but given the talent on this defense and other areas of need it's not out of the realm of possibility. Add in the money in play here -- Jones is slated to count $3.746 million against the cap and would take up just $1.6 million in dead space if cut, freeing up more than $2 million in cap space -- it's entirely possible that the defensive lineman might be gone before he takes his first snap with the Vikings.
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Patriots RB Dion Lewis
Do I think this is going to happen? No. Lewis has been explosive for the Patriots this preseason, and he was dominant during a stretch in 2015. But the Patriots are loaded at running back with James White, Rex Burkhead and Mike Gillislee, and Lewis would free up $1.2 million in cap space. A more likely candidate to be cut by the Pats would be Brandon Bolden, I think, but he feels like a "True Patriot" who does the things the team needs him to do and remains substantially cheaper. This was going to be Kony Ealy had the Patriots not jumped the gun on dumping the disappointing defensive end already.
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Saints LB Stephone Anthony
The Saints won't save any money if they dump the former first-round pick, but they would get an opportunity to free up a roster spot for someone who might be more likely to see playing time. Anthony was impressive as a rookie and has just fallen back since then, ending up on the bench for the Saints last year. The Saints signed A.J. Klein and brought in Alex Anzalone during the draft. If they're not planning on playing Anthony, the 2015 selection might end up being the odd man out for the Saints just two years after being the 31st overall pick in the draft.
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Giants QB Geno Smith
Pretty obvious candidate for being released here because of his history as a quarterback (Smith has been a roller coaster his entire career), Eli Manning's ability to stay on the field (he's never missed a game since becoming the full-time starter) and the money the Giants could pick up here. New York would gain over $700,000 in cap space by getting rid of Smith, although Josh Johnson is in a pretty similar spot, so either quarterback feels like the big name that could/will be dumped once the cuts come down.
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Jets RB Matt Forte
Lots of options for the Jets here, including a bigger surprise and bigger headline if they decided to part ways with second-year quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who has looked utterly uninspiring in preseason action. Defensive end Kony Ealy, claimed off waivers by the Jets after being traded to the Patriots, wouldn't be a shocker either. But Forte has been on the trade block for 24 hours and even though he won't save money, he might help the Jets win a game (perish the thought). Cornerback Buster Skrine could be a candidate here too.
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Raiders QB EJ Manuel
The Raiders are another tough team to figure out because of their roster construction. Reggie McKenzie burned this squad to the ground several years back and rebuilt it quickly with the additions of guys like Khalil Mack and David Carr. So most of the talent on this roster is homegrown, with the free-agent acquisitions (Kelechi Osemele, David Amerson, Bruce Irvin) ending up being nice signings. Manuel and Cook are battling for the backup spot, but dumping Manuel, a former first-round pick, would save a few hundred thousand more than dumping Cook.
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Eagles RB Donnel Pumphrey
Not a cost-saving move for Philadelphia here because of when the former San Diego State star was drafted, but there might just be too much depth at the running back position for the Eagles to keep him, with Pumphrey struggling to really gain a hold on any sort of playing time and also unable to stay healthy during the preseason. Make no mistake: it's not huge money, but it would be a big shocker if Pumphrey was ultimately released. He felt like a guy who could see some run on a questionable depth chart when he was drafted.
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Steelers WR Sammie Coates
Coates is famous, unfortunately, for his hands. A lot of wide receivers are, but Coates always had drop/focus issues at Auburn and they showed up last season, particularly during the AFC Championship Game loss to the Patriots. With the addition of JuJu Smith-Schuster this offseason and the ability of Darrius Heyward-Bey to serve in the blocking game and as a deep threat, the Steelers' wideout depth chart might just be too crowded. Coates could be the loser there in a big way.
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49ers G Zane Beadles
Picked up by the 49ers this offseason after a less-than-exceptional stint with the Jaguars (he was originally drafted by the Broncos), Beadles is a pretty obvious candidate to get cut loose if the 49ers feel like saving some cash. He has a salary cap hit of over $4 million and would free up almost $3 million in salary cap space if San Francisco decided to part ways with him. It seems unlikely, especially with the 49ers more concerned with creating a functional offense than with saving cash, but Beadles fits the bill of the player we're looking for here.
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Seahawks WR Jermaine Kearse
Word leaked out late on Wednesday that the Seahawks were trying to trade Kearse, which is a giant red flag for his status on the roster. He previously looked like a fairly safe bet to make a fairly thin depth chart out of Seattle, but the emergence of Kasen Williams during the preseason as well as Paul Richardson's playmaking ability might make Kearse expendable. At the very least, Seattle knows it can save more than $2 million in cap space by moving on from Kearse.
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Buccaneers RB Jeremy McNichols
The Buccaneers decided to ruin me having a layup in this spot when they released Roberto Aguayo during the preseason (Aguayo was subsequently claimed by the Bears and subsequently shanked his first kick with Chicago). It's tough to find a name on this roster too: the Bucs could dump Doug Martin without creating any dead cap space, but he's suspended so he doesn't count against the roster yet. Demar Dotson and Brent Grimes are in similar guarantee spots, but they're necessary pieces for this roster in 2017. So we'll go with the rookie running back who was a bit of a sleeper during the draft instead.
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Titans WR Harry Douglas
There are a couple of wideouts the Titans could move on from, including Rishard Matthews, who would free up more than $6 million in 2017 if he was released. But Matthews was productive last year and at one point the primary weapon for Marcus Mariota. The same can't be said for Douglas, who would free up nearly $1.5 million in cap space if the Titans decided they could afford to ditch him. The reported good health of Corey Davis, the team's top pick, might make Douglas expendable.
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Redskins RB Matt Jones
Scot McCloughan wouldn't be thrilled with this move for sure, given his interest in touting Jones frequently as a future star in the NFL. Jones just can't hold onto the ball enough to get playing time, and the Redskins have plenty of guys (Samaje Perine, Rob Kelley, Chris Thompson) ahead of him on the depth chart. He wouldn't save a ton of money, but the Redskins would free up over $600,000 by releasing him and simply might need the roster space elsewhere. Colt McCoy could be a potential cut except for the one-year contract status of Kirk Cousins.
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