The first major wave of 2023 NFL roster cuts took place leading up to the opening of free agency. The draft is over and training camp is coming right up, meaning the next busy period of roster cuts is just around the corner.
With the draft now behind us, we have a good idea as to which players are in real danger of losing their roster spots.
Before we start here, just a note that contract numbers and details are courtesy of OvertheCap.com. With that said, let’s dive into the 10 biggest NFL names who are in danger of getting cut
David Bakhtiari
With the Packers entering a retooling year, it makes sense for GM Brian Gutekunst to cut any ageing veterans he doesn’t see as part of the long-term picture.
Well, the worst kept secret in Titletown is that Bakhtiari is nearing the very end of his tenure with the Cheeseheads. The Pack can save a whopping $17.5 million if they release a 32-year-old offensive tackle who’s played just 24 games over the last two years.
Or, in an ideal world, the Packers find a taker for the three-time first-team all-pro and get something for him on the trade market. A healthy Bakhtiari could make a difference somewhere, and he should even be motivated to pursue a championship elsewhere in the final stretch run of his career.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
The Packers are usually very good at knowing when it’s time to move on from a veteran player. Given Bakhtiari’s age, injury history and enormous cap hit, why wouldn’t they want to cut ties now?
It just makes too much sense for the two slides to move on at this point.
Joe Mixon
If Mixon didn’t miss three games in 2022, he likely would have hit 1,000 yards rushing for the fourth time in his career. In 14 games, he still finished with 814 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns and 1,255 total yards of offense.
But with the likes of Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase soon needing massive extensions, the Bengals will need to free up every dollar they can. Releasing Mixon saves $10 million in cap space, and considering he’s now an injury-prone player at a devalued position, Cincy has good reason to cut the cord now.
Many actually thought the Bengals would waste no time cutting Mixon once the new league year began. But here we are post-draft, and he remains atop the running back depth chart…at least for now.
Cincinnati used a fifth-round draft choice on Illinois product Chase Brown, who had nearly 1,900 yards of offense in his final year of college. So yeah, pretty sure he’d be up for an workhorse role if the Bengals wanted to hand it to him.
Like Cook, Mixon wouldn’t have a problem generating lots of interest on the open market. But it’s not hard to find good running backs anymore, and the Bengals can easily get by without him.
Patrick Queen
The Baltimore Ravens declined the fifth-year option on Queen’s rookie deal, which is obviously their nice way of telling him it’s now-or-never.
But what if “never” comes before “now”?… That is, what if the Ravens decide to cut ties with Queen before Week 1? Surprisingly, it’s not out of the question.
It just felt like a perfect fit when the Ravens landed the workhorse LSU linebacker 28th overall back in the 2020 NFL Draft. But he hasn’t been much of a playmaker at the professional level, and Queen has especially been a giant liability in coverage.
Queen has just 10 sacks through three seasons and earned a Pro Football Focus grade of below 50 in his rookie and sophomore seasons. And per Pro Football Reference, Queen has allowed a completion percentage of over 75 percent in each of his first three seasons when targeted.
The Ravens handed trade deadline pickup Roquan Smith a five-year extension worth $100 million. 2022 second-rounder David Ojabo is going to enjoy a bigger role, plus Baltimore found a potential steal in Clemson’s Trenton Simpson with the No. 86 pick in this year’s draft.
Throw in the presence of the underrated Tyus Bowser, and Baltimore has more than enough linebacker depth to move on from Queen. And because he’s on his rookie deal, cutting Queen would cost pennies in dead cap money.
La’el Collins
The Bengals picked up the standout offensive tackle on a three-year deal worth $21 million in 2022 free agency, following his release from the Dallas Cowboys.
Collins was one of three new starters the Bengals added to the o-line, along with Ted Karras and Alex Cappa. But Collins had a forgettable first year in Cincinnati — allowing five sacks while committing a whopping eight penalties.
The Bengals already found a new starting tackle in former-Ravens and Chiefs Pro Bowler Orlando Brown Jr, who was handed a lucrative four-year deal worth $64 million in free agency.
Collins is now expendable, and the reigning AFC runner-ups can save just over $7.7 million in 2023 if they cut Collins, along with another $7 million in savings against the cap in 2024. Seems like a logical move to cut a guy who’s merely a backup on this stacked Cincinnati roster.
Kendrick Bourne
The speedy wide receiver is entering the final season of a three-year, $15 million pact he signed with the New England Patriots back in 2021.
Many actually thought that Bourne would be released earlier this offseason, but Bill Belichick was content to watch Nelson Agholor and Jakobi Meyers leave for greener pastures in free agency. So for now, at least, Bourne is still on the roster.
Bourne had a career year for the Pats in 2021, recording 55 receptions for 800 yards and five touchdowns. But his numbers dropped big time in 2022, hauling in just 35 catches for 434 yards and one touchdown.
Cutting Bourne saves the Patriots a cool $5.455 million. Considering they have 2023 free agent signing JuJu Smith Schuster, DeVante Parker, sophomore speedster Tyquan Thornton, rookie Kayshon Boutte and veteran tight end Hunter Henry as their other pass-catching options, the Patriots don’t need Bourne anymore.
He’s expendable now, and Bourne should be keen on finding a bigger role elsewhere – which is why this seems like one of the more likely roster cuts we can expect to see over the next few months.
Duane Brown
We were surprised when the New York Jets passed on the opportunity to address the offensive line in round one. Instead of giving Aaron Rodgers more help up front, the Jets used their first-round pick on Iowa State edge rusher Will McDonald IV.
So barring a change of plans — and there very well could be a change in plans! — the Jets will roll into 2023 with the injury-prone Mekhi Becton and a 38-year-old Duane Brown as their starting offensive tackles.
But we’re still skeptical that the Jets are actually serious about starting Brown at tackle again – especially when you consider the fact that the Jets could save $9.705 million in cap space if they cut the five-time Pro Bowler.
PFF graded Brown at just 57.8 in 2022, which shows he’s merely average and a very replaceable player at this point in his career. So if you’re the Jets, why wouldn’t you cut a past-his-prime veteran and open up all that cap room to address other needs?
Here’s a crazy idea: What about cutting Brown and reuniting Rodgers and David Bakhtiari by trading for the latter?
Corey Davis
Duane Brown isn’t the only New York Jet who appears to be on the chopping block… Corey Davis could very-well be joining him as well!
After a career year with the Tennessee Titans in 2020, the big 6-foot-3 wideout signed a three-year deal with the Jets worth $37.5 million in 2021 free agency.
Awful quarterback play hasn’t helped by any means, but Davis just hasn’t produced in Gotham whatsoever. Through his first two seasons as a Jet, Davis had 66 total receptions for 1,028 yards and six touchdowns. So much for being the 1,000-yard receiving threat we saw in Music City.
Davis is entering the final year of his contract and shouldn’t expect many targets in 2023, even with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson will be the go-to receiver going forward. That’s a given.
The Jets also brought aboard two of Rodgers’ old Green Bay pals in Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb. Ex-Chiefs speedster Mecole Hardman, who was added in free agency, should also make an impact in that offense.
Cutting the seldom-used Davis saves the Jets $10.5 million in cap space. That’d open up a lot of room to add additional impact players to help a team that’s suddenly in win-now mode, don’t you think?
Jerry Hughes
After a nine-year run with the Buffalo Bills, Hughes signed a two-year deal with the Houston Texans in 2022 worth $10 million. The veteran edge rusher turned back the clock and racked up nine sacks for Houston last season — his highest total since 2014.
But considering he’s entering his age-35 season, along with the fact he played just 59 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in 2023, regression seems inevitable. There’s just no way a rotational player in his mid-30s gets that close to double-digit sacks again.
And let’s not forget that Houston grabbed Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. at No. 3 overall in the April draft, making Hughes even more expendable.
Cutting Hughes would save Houston $3.5 million in free agency while opening the door for Anderson Jr. and other youngsters to take on more playing time.
We’re not saying the Texans absolutely should release Hughes. But a team in rebuilding mode does have good reason to cut ties now and focus on developing their younger defensive linemen.
Malik Willis
The Tennessee Titans selected the Liberty dual-threat signal-caller in round three at No. 86 overall a year ago. At the time, it felt like excellent value since some projected Willis to be a late first or early second-round pick.
But the Titans obviously didn’t like what they saw in Willis during his rookie year. He saw eight game appearances and made three starts, barely completing over half his pass attempts for 276 yards, zero touchdowns and three picks.
The Titans had such little faith in Willis that, even with Ryan Tannehill out for the year, they rolled with Josh Dobbs and his one career start in their win-or-go-home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 18.
And in case you missed it, the Titans got great value by trading up and snagging Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis with the No. 33 selection in this summer’s draft. Tannehill is entering his contract year, so the situation is perfectly set up for Tennessee to transition over to Levis in 2024.
Add everything up, and you can see where we’re going with this. There obviously isn’t a need for the Titans to keep Willis around. And they haven’t really made it a secret, either! If starting Dobbs over him wasn’t already the writing on the wall, drafting Levis was.
The Titans may as well give Willis the fresh start he deserves. Maybe he finds his footing and succeeds in a new system — like Tannehill did after leaving the Miami Dolphins!
If Tannehill struggles or gets injured again, it’ll be Levis’ time to shine. They simply don’t have much use for Willis heading into 2023, so don’t at all be stunned if he’s one of the next notable players to get tossed back into the free agent market before training camp.
