Recapping the moves during NFL's cuts deadline, plus Mac Jones and Hendon Hooker among winners in QB2 battles

Getty Images

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

It's your friendly neighborhood NFL writer Tyler Sullivan driving the bus to get us all through the midweek point and, boy, do we have a jam-packed newsletter for you today. Tuesday was a busy day at the office for us as every team across the NFL had to cut down rosters from 90 players to the opening 53-man units as we inch closer to the regular season. Not only does that simply include players making or missing out on the roster, but trades and injury decisions are also part of that equation, which had our heads on a swivel for most of the day. Busy? Yes. But that's why we get paid the big bucks, right?

Today, we'll dive into everything you need to know surrounding cutdown day along with every other nugget that the NFL has dropped over the last 24 hours or so. First, here's your daily reminder to tell all your football-fanatic friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here.

1. NFL cut day 2024: Full list of team-by-team moves

It's truly an odd day in the NFL because we're talking about a massive chunk of people losing their jobs when you boil it down. That said, it's fair to say that most likely have an idea what their fate is/will be when they sign on with their teams and there are avenues for those waived players to find new homes either on the practice squad or another club's 53-man roster.

As we mentioned, it's a hectic day in the league, so it's hard for hard-working folks like you to know every single move that went down on Tuesday. Lucky for you, you subscribe to this newsletter and we listed every single one that was released by their teams to meet the 53-man threshold. To see the entire list, you can click here.

If you want the summarized version of the day's events, we have you covered as well. Garrett Podell unveiled his biggest takeaways from the day's events, including the Atlanta Falcons not messing around with QB depth.

Podell: The Atlanta Falcons are keeping three quarterbacks on their roster -- Kirk Cousins and 2024 eighth overall draft pick Michael Penix Jr. (obviously) and then also Taylor Heinicke. The veteran with six years of NFL experience -- 38 career games and 29 career starts -- played well below his resume this preseason.

Heinicke only completed 45.5% (20 of 49) of his passes for 206 yards without either a touchdown or an interception. At times, he looked overwhelmed across the three preseason games, which appeared to put his roster spot in jeopardy. However, he made the team, and part of that likely has to do with the 36-year-old Cousins coming off his Achilles injury. If his health wasn't a concern, they could have cut Heinicke and replaced him with any other quarterback who just missed the cut on a different team. Atlanta instead opted to keep him around, likely in part to him going through their whole offseason program.

Speaking of quarterbacks, a number of notable signal-callers were cut on Tuesday and our own Cody Benjamin highlighted the top players now available at that position.

C.J. Beathard (released by Jaguars)
Bailey Zappe (waived by Patriots)
Desmond Ridder (released by Cardinals)
Brett Rypien (released by Bears)
Nate Sudfeld (released by Lions)

I also constructed a list of the top available players post-cuts and identified one potential landing spot for each of them. One of the more surprising cuts of the day came in Houston with the Texans moving on from wideout Noah Brown. I had the Los Angeles Chargers as an ideal fit for the 28-year-old.

Chargers a potential landing spot for Noah Brown: L.A. looks like it'll lean on Joshua Palmer, Quentin Johnston, and rookie Ladd McConkey after moving on from Keenan Allen and Mike Williams this offseason. While Palmer is underrated and both McConkey and Johnston have potential, it wouldn't hurt to give Justin Herbert another outlet like Brown, who could factor into the target share

2. Cutdown day winners and losers: Mac Jones Jags' QB2

Of course, with any major event on the NFL calendar, we need to determine who won and who lost the day. I was tasked with coming up with a handful of winners and losers coming out of cut day across the league, and there were several fascinating roster battles that were determined on Tuesday, specifically two QB2 showdowns in Jacksonville and Detroit.

Winner: Jaguars QB Mac Jones. While Jones is no longer situated as a starting quarterback in the NFL like he was a season ago in New England, the former first-round pick was a winner this summer after he beat out C.J. Beathard for the backup job in Jacksonville behind Trevor Lawrence. Jones was sturdy this preseason, completing 73% of his passes for 421 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions in three preseason contests. Again, he's not vying for a starting job at the moment, but he has proven he can be a capable backup if Lawrence were to miss time.

Winner: Lions QB Hendon Hooker. In what has been a rough couple of years for Hooker, the Tennessee product finally gets a win. With the Detroit Lions releasing Nate Sudfeld, the backup job behind Jared Goff in the Motor City belongs to Hooker, who put together a solid preseason. In the preseason finale against the Steelers, Hooker got an extended look and completed 12 of his 20 pass attempts for 114 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He also rushed for 93 yards on 10 attempts. While there's always a chance the Lions bring in another quarterback (possibly even Sudfeld), Hooker's play seems to be giving the club confidence that he can be the backup going forward.

As for a loser, we go to Kansas City where the Chiefs cut ties with wide receiver Kadarius Toney.

Loser: WR Kadarius Toney. Toney's time with the Kansas City Chiefs came to a close on Tuesday with the defending Super Bowl champs deciding to release the wideout. This is a rough blow for Toney for a couple of reasons. First, you're no longer in a situation with Andy Reid as your head coach and Patrick Mahomes as your quarterback, which is possibly the best scenario for a young receiver to be in. Second, if you can't make it work in that system, teams might be weary that Toney will be able to work in theirs.

For more on Toney's release, Cody Benjamin identified five potential landing spots for the receiver.

While you may think that a player getting released automatically makes him a loser, you'd be wrong. In the case of veteran running back Samajie Perine, losing out on a roster spot with the Broncos may be the best thing for him.

Winner: RB Simajie Perine. It's rare to lose your job and somehow still turn out a winner, but that's what I see here with Perine. As of yesterday, he was on a Denver Broncos team that is not expected to make a playoff run and a member of a crowded backfield headlined by Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin. Now that the team released him, Perine can write his own ticket. The veteran back can look for a new home in the NFL that not only gives him an opportunity for more touches out of the backfield but also can contend for a Super Bowl. A reunion with the Bengals or joining the Chiefs or Packers make a lot of sense for the still-productive pass-catching back.

3. Ernest Jones IV traded to Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans were one of the busiest teams this offseason in terms of trying to improve their roster and that continued on Tuesday during cut day. The club executed a trade with the Los Angeles Rams to land standout linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who had previously been permitted to seek a trade. That deal ended up being in Nashville where the Titans gave up next to nothing for the linebacker's services.

Here's a breakdown of the trade:

Rams receive: 2026 fifth-round pick
Titans receive: Ernest Jones IV and a 2026 sixth-round pick

Last season, the 24-year-old totaled 145 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 14 tackles for a loss with Los Angeles. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract, so a new deal should be on the horizon for Jones, but this is quite the addition for Tennessee particularly at the cost.

4. What constitutes success for all 32 teams in 2024

Carolina Panthers v Buffalo Bills — Getty Images

Taking a bit of a break from all the news coming out of cut day, Cody Benjamin looked forward to the 2024 season and examined what success would mean to every team in the league. Of course, every club would like to be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the year, but that's not a realistic goal for most teams. So, what is?

You can read Benjamin's entire list here, but we'll preview three teams and what he deems would be a successful 2024 campaign for them.

Carolina Panthers: Bryce Young appearing as if he belongs. Even with upgrades out wide and up front, no one honestly expects new coach Dave Canales to have this group knocking on the door of the playoffs. If he simply brings the young quarterback up to NFL speed, rekindling Young's "it" factor, the arrow will be pointing up.

Dallas Cowboys: A deep playoff run. What else is there to say? Both Dak Prescott and Mike McCarthy have come under Jerry Jones' microscope for their hand in Dallas' recent early playoff exits. The Cowboys still have title-worthy talent at premium spots, so it's all a matter of meeting/exceeding expectations once again.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Something other than just another "non-losing season." That might mean an improbable deep playoff run. Or simply identifying an actual answer at the remade quarterback spot. Or, dare we say it, more of a bottoming out that prompts Mike Tomlin and Co. to do some deeper philosophical digging/adapting.

5. CeeDee Lamb pushes for Dak Prescott extension

CeeDee Lamb was the latest wide receiver in the NFL to cash in with a lucrative new contract extension, recently inking a four-year, $136 million extension with the Cowboys. Now that Lamb is back in the fold after reaching that deal, he's pushing his quarterback, Dak Prescott, to get a pay bump as well.

"You look at our numbers together, they're at the top of the charts," Lamb said. "I have no doubt that they're going to get a deal done. We all know that I want Dak here. Jerry wants Dak here, too, so let's just get this under control and kill the speculation and let's go win."

As for Lamb himself, it sounds like the Cowboys are hellbent on getting immediate returns on their investment.

"I think he's going to touch the ball a ton," said Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones. "For what we're going to have to pay him, he better. I told [head coach] Mike [McCarthy] things can't change. He's got to be targeted 12 to 15 times a game, you got to hand it to him a couple more times. So I don't see that changing in the least bit. "When you pay receivers that kind of money, they got to catch the ball eight to 12 times a game, 15 times, an occasional 15. He's our No. 1 go-to guy."

6. Extra points: Odell Beckham Jr. placed on PUP list

Washington Commanders v Miami Dolphins — Getty Images

It was a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.