Cutdown day in the NFL has come to an end. With the preseason now in the books, each club needed to trim its 90-man rosters all the way down to the opening 53-man squad by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday as we inch closer to the start of the regular season. As you can imagine, slicing your roster essentially in half does leave some solid players and notable names down on the cutting room floor. And what's the saying? Another man's trash is another man's treasure.
With that in mind, we've looked over each player cut leading through Tuesday's deadline, picked out a handful of notable names, and tried to play matchmakers for their next stop in the NFL.
Potential landing spot: New England Patriots
After waiving Bailey Zappe, Trace McSorley, and even rookie returner/receiver/quarterback Malik Cunningham, the Patriots have starter Mac Jones as their lone signal-caller on the roster. Whether it's bringing back one (or more) of those players via the practice squad or not, New England will, of course, add a quarterback to the roster. If the Patriots go outside of the organization, Colt McCoy would be a solid veteran to pair with Jones in Bill O'Brien's offense.
McCoy was one of the more surprising cuts as many assumed he'd be the club's starting quarterback while Kyler Murray continues to rehab his torn ACL from last season. After Arizona acquired Joshua Dobbs in a trade, however, that paved the way for McCoy's exit from the Cardinals. During the preseason, McCoy completed 9 of 12 passes for 42 yards in two exhibitions.
Potential landing spot: Tennessee Titans
Isabella does have plenty of potential to be a solid slot receiver within an NFL offense, but he hasn't exactly found the right fit. The former second-round pick latched on with the Buffalo Bills this summer and had some flashy moments (six catches for 63 yards in the preseason), but it ultimately wasn't enough to make the 53-man roster.
Tennessee is relatively thin at receiver behind DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks, so it'd make sense to take a flier on a speedy wideout like Isabella as pass-catching depth along with on special teams. Isabella ran a 4.31 40-yard dash coming into the NFL and that type of speed should be something that Tennessee would want to inject into its offense, while also not overlapping the skill sets of Hopkins and Burks.
Potential landing spot: New England Patriots
Leatherwood's brief time in the NFL has been a tumultuous one. After being a first-round pick just a few years ago in 2021, the lineman has bounced around two different teams in as many seasons. He once again finds himself looking for a new home after the Chicago Bears waived him as they bring their roster down to the opening 53 players.
This seems like a prototypical Patriots target. He was a first-round talent who failed to get his footing once he got into the league and could be a high-upside project for Bill Belichick with him only being 24 years old. Leatherwood also has the Alabama pedigree that seems to attract itself to Foxborough given the relationship between Belichick and Nick Saban. Leatherwood came into the league as a tackle but did see some time at guard with the Bears. That versatility could also be appealing to the Patriots, but they do have a long-term need at tackle which could be explored here.
Potential landing spot: New York Jets
Perriman's tour around the NFL continues after the former first-round wide receiver was released by the Indianapolis Colts leading into Tuesday's deadline. The former 26th overall pick in 2015 has been with nine teams throughout his career and has shown some promise in various spots, but nothing that has lived up to his draft billing.
One of his more productive years, however, came in 2020 as a member of the New York Jets, who could be a solid pairing this time around. While the coaching staff is different from Perriman's first go-round with the club, New York did just see Corey Davis retire and the 29-year-old could be a solid depth option for Aaron Rodgers' offense.
Potential landing spot: Cincinnati Bengals
The former first-round pick is once again looking for a new home. Abram was drafted with the No. 27 overall pick by the Raiders in 2019 and spent the first few years of his career with Las Vegas before being released in November of last year. He was initially claimed by the Packers but was released a few weeks later. Abram then finished out the year as a member of the Seahawks and signed with New Orleans back in March. After being unable to make the Saints' 53-man roster, he's now on waivers. The team reportedly wants him back on the practice squad, but he'll need to clear waivers first.
As for who could claim him, the Bengals would be interesting. While he may not be able to provide immediate results, the 26-year-old could provide some upside in a safety unit that was gutted this offseason with the departures of both Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell in free agency.
Potential landing spot: Detroit Lions
Anderson battled for the No. 3 receiver job for the Dolphins this summer, but ultimately couldn't make the 53-man roster. The 30-year-old receiver could still be a valuable piece within an offense looking to stretch the field with his speed. Could that potentially be the Lions? The wide receiver depth chart isn't that impressive for Detroit behind Amon-Ra St. Brown. Anderson could be an ideal replacement as a deep threat while second-year receiver and former first-round pick Jameson Williams serves his six-game suspension.
Potential landing spot: San Francisco 49ers
New England waiving Zappe was one of the more surprising moves of cutdown day. After all, the 2022 fourth-rounder impressed in his showing last season and even rivaled Mac Jones for the starting job for a minute as a rookie. However, he did seem to struggle during training camp and the preseason, which likely led to the Patriots exposing him to waivers.
It seems unlikely that Zappe will find his way to a starting role anytime soon, but he could still have value as a depth piece on a quarterback depth chart. And do you know who should emphasize having a deep pool of quarterbacks? The 49ers. Of course, San Francisco did send Trey Lance to the Cowboys after losing the backup job to Sam Darnold (who is only signed through this year), but that doesn't mean the Niners can't still have three quarterbacks on the roster. In fact, they did keep Brandon Allen as their third QB, but Zappe could be looked at as an upgrade at a vitally important position. Zappe would be tremendous insurance if the 49ers again found themselves looking down their bench of quarterbacks due to injuries on top of a project for Kyle Shanahan to develop behind Purdy going forward.
