Change in Roster Cutdown date means most players/best players won't be cut til 9/2 - New England Patriots Forums

JoeSixPat · 08-23-2006, 09:18 PM

This has probably been posted and discussed already but just in case others missed it I figured I'd throw it out there.

There's a thread discussion who's going to be available from other team cuts to provide depth at WR. Generally speaking the best players are the last cut - and this year the NFL has pushed back the dates of mandatory cutdowns.

The final cutdown date, when the majority of the best players will be cut is very late - September 2nd. So people expecting to get some quality guys into camp sooner rather than later might have to wait.

I think we'll still be active in skimming the waiver wire - especially with the prediction that 600 players will be cut on September 2nd - but don't expect any of these guys to walk in and make an immediate impact.

They will still be valuable for depth on the roster at many positions of need, and would likely be up to speed by October.

Per Tom Curran:

Quote:

The Patriots are down to 88 players on their active roster. Clubs need to cut to 75 players after their third preseason game. The Patriots have nine roster exemptions however -- they get to keep guys a little longer because they sent players to NFL Europe -- and will only have to cut down to 84 players.

All clubs have to cut to 53 players by Sept. 2. In the past, there was an earlier cut to 75 players, then a cut to 65 after the third preseason game. Then came the final cut to 53.

With the NFL taking out that additional cutdown day, the number of players cut by Sept. 2 promises to be huge. Perhaps as many as 600 players league-wide will be untethered. For example, if the Pats make only minimal cuts before Sept. 2, they'll have to release 31 players.

***Box_O_Rocks*** · 08-23-2006, 09:28 PM

Should be an interesting exercise to see who teams are targeting off the waiver wire. I wonder if there is an enterprising reporter out there who will give us a story on which players got the most waiver claims?

***pats1*** · 08-23-2006, 09:32 PM

Curran - you're wrong.

Doubly.

1) There haven't been 3 cutdowns for years. Last year, it was 65, then 53.

2) NFLE Exemptions now expire with the 75-man cutdown.

It's explained better in this thread:

When are first roster cuts....

And this article from ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2389062

Quote:

There was one significant change in the roster cutdown before the start of the season and one after the final cutdown.

In a vote of 29-3, owners allowed teams to keep 75 instead of 65 players on their roster in the first cutdown, which is annually the Tuesday after the third preseason weekend. The trade off was the NFL Europe exemptions that allowed teams to bring more players to camp expire at that time. The reason for the change is simple. For the most part, the NFL Europe players weren't going to make the team but teams keep them to the final cut in order to have bigger rosters for the preseason finale.

Now, teams can cut the NFL Europe players in the next to last cut and have 10 extra players who could either make the team or be candidates for the practice squad.

The second part of the roster proposals is that the eight-member practice squad was extended four years to 2009. Before last season, teams could only keep five players on the practice squad.

And thirdly, no, the last cut isn't late at all.

Last year, it was September 3rd.

In 2004, it was September 4th.

JoeSixPat · 08-23-2006, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Box_O_Rocks

Should be an interesting exercise to see who teams are targeting off the waiver wire. I wonder if there is an enterprising reporter out there who will give us a story on which players got the most waiver claims?

My feeling is that this whole dynamic makes player trades/swaps a worthwhile alternative to many teams who want to get a look at players in their systems earlier, and give them a bit longer to adjust if they work out.

Just as interesting will be a situation in which the Patriots are making the bulk of their cuts - as many as 31 - on September 2nd.

***Box_O_Rocks*** · 08-23-2006, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeSixPat

My feeling is that this whole dynamic makes player trades/swaps a worthwhile alternative to many teams who want to get a look at players in their systems earlier, and give them a bit longer to adjust if they work out.

Just as interesting will be a situation in which the Patriots are making the bulk of their cuts - as many as 31 - on September 2nd.

I'm not sure I buy the trade alternative just for an earlier look in your system, that seems counterproductive. Cleveburgh and Zona traded for players who they badly needed - it was also interesting that an agent who has a history of working well with the Pats was involved and got two of his veterans into a position to earn a starting job elsewhere. The Shanle thread seems to indicate the same thing was working in that trade.

Bringing in players for an extended test drive is still a waiver/FA function as I see it. It will be interesting to see who our Yo-Yo player will be between the 2nd and 10th if BB has someone he wants to see practice.

***pats1*** · 08-23-2006, 09:44 PM

Tom is actually triply wrong.

The Pats have 10 exemptons, not 9.

Chad Jackson has a bonus exemption, which is better explained here:

http://www.jaguars.com/Story/3745.asp

Quote:

Fred from Portland, OR: Why are the Jaguars allowed 90 players on their roster. You mentioned that the limit is 80 players and I only know of five players with NFL Europe exemptions, so why are an additional five players exempt?

Vic: OK, let's start with four Jaguars who played in NFL Europe: Konrad Dean, Marques Ogden, Jimmy McClain and Kenny Jackson. They are all on the Jaguars training camp roster and practicing as exempted players. The Jaguars were granted two more NFL Europe exemptions because of the type of players they allocated to Europe: Players who were on the Jaguars' roster last season. Those two exemptions are termed rookie/first-year player exemptions, which means you can place two players on your training camp roster who are either rookies or first-year players. Most teams assign those exemptions to first-year players they know they won't cut, which allows the team to maintain the flexibility of that type of exemption for the duration of the preseason. The Jaguars have assigned the rookie/first-year player exemptions to Byron Leftwich and Rashean Mathis. They probably won't be cut this summer. OK, that's six exemptions, which takes us to 86 on the roster. Chris Brown and Akeem Akbar are two other NFL Europe players who are on the Jaguars roster, though they are not practicing because they were assigned to the Europe â€œinjuredâ€ list and have yet to be declared healthy. That makes 88, right? Then there are Matt Leonard and Deon Humphrey, who were placed on the reserve/injured list just before the start of training camp. The maximum number of NFL Europe exemptions allowed is 10, plus one for an NFL Europe League â€œnational,â€ which is a player other than a U.S. citizen who played in NFL Europe. Is that more than you ever wanted to know about NFL Europe? It's more than I wanna know.

***mgteich*** · 08-23-2006, 09:51 PM

I believe that the final cut is always the weekend before the season starts. I believe that a couple of years ago, it was on Tuesday. The Saturday date gives everyone a full day to pick up players from other teams and set up their Practice Squads.

As a practical matter, many veterans aren't picked until after Game One, so
that their salary isn't guaranteed.

***pats1*** · 08-23-2006, 09:53 PM

Curran is also incorrect in another aspect.

The Pats, before the Gramatica cut (when that article was written, yesterday 8/22), had 86 players on their active roster, not 88.

He was likely counting Branch and McGrew, who are both on reserve lists.

***DaBruinz*** · 08-23-2006, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pats1

Curran is also incorrect in another aspect.

The Pats, before the Gramatica cut (when that article was written, yesterday 8/22), had 86 players on their active roster, not 88.

He was likely counting Branch and McGrew, who are both on reserve lists.

Aren't the Pats down to 85 players? They have cut John Condo, Gemara Williams, Todd Pederson, and now Gramatica as well as trading Gorin. Also, Mel Mitchell no longer counts since he was IRed with McGrew.

Also, aren't Zuriel Smith and Earl Charles on some special NFLE Reserve list since they were injured there? Is Ray Ventrone on that list as well? Do they count against the roster?

JoeSixPat · 08-23-2006, 10:26 PM

Something didn't sound right to me too - thanks for confirming

... but I still wonder how Curran has us going from 84 to 53 (hypotheticaly) with 31 cuts all on September 2nd