There are a plethora of NFL lists. Top 10 QBs of All Time. Top 10 NFL Myths. Top 10 Best Undrafted Free Agent of All Time. And so on and so on.
Most media outlets have their weekly team rankings list. A favorite writer of mine, Bill Simmons, recently posted his best to worst quarterbacks list on ESPNs Page 2.
And tonight, NFL Films gets ready to unveil its Top 100 Greatest Players of All Time series on NFL Network. All of these lists are lists players hope to be included on some day. So right now, I will be discussing another list that comes out tomorrow. It is the one list no NFL player ever wants to make.
The cutdown list.
On Saturday, September 4th, all 32 NFL teams will be required to cut down its roster to a league mandated 53 players and the fate of many men will hang in the balance. Players on the roster bubble, who have gone their entire lives without ever having to be leftovers when teams are being selected, will have to wait until tomorrow night to find out if their name is on the worst list in the NFL.
However some teams will not wait until tomorrow. The San Francisco 49ers have already trimmed their roster to 53 players and several other teams have started the process as well.
The worst part about winding up on the cutdown list is that nobody knows who will get cut. It does not matter if you are a free agent rookie or a five-year veteran. Just ask J.J. Arrington. The Philadelphia Eagles waived the fifth year running back just two months after trading to get him from the Denver Broncos.
Reports are coming out of Seattle that wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh will be released if the team cannot find a suitable trading partner. Although I am convinced this move has more to do with the financial impact Houshmandzadeh will have on the team and not his actual performance on the field, it just goes to show that no player is safe on cutdown day.
The defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints have wielded their axe as well, waiving ex-Redskins running back Ladell Betts and once NFL starting QB Patrick Ramsey.
There are plenty of lists out there to keep us entertained for the next six days until the start of the regular season, but until then, make sure you take some time and tip your hat to the players that find themselves on the cut down list.
