2024 NFL roster cuts: Top available players now looking for new teams and potential landing spots ahead of season
And then there were 53. On Tuesday, every NFL team had to trim their 90-man offseason roster to a 53-man opening-round group. While some players have had good summers, the constraints of different teams sometimes make those efforts futile. That said, just because a player didn’t make one of the 32 opening-round rosters doesn’t mean he doesn’t belong somewhere in the NFL.
While Tuesday’s deadline highlights players who are being released or cut, it’s an avenue for continued roster building as we move closer to Week 1. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up several notable players who are now looking for a new team and identified a possible landing spot.
After spending the first two years of his career with the Falcons, Ridder was traded to the Arizona Cardinals this offseason in a rare player-for-player trade for receiver Rondale Moore. Ridder battled for the No. 2 QB job behind Kyler Murray with Clayton Tune and drew the short straw. The 24-year-old started 13 games for Atlanta last season and went 6-7.
Potential landing spot: Los Angeles Rams. This may not be a permanent home for Ridder, but it’s an interesting stop. The Rams, of course, have Matthew Stafford as their starter and signed Jimmy Garoppolo as their backup this offseason. However, Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games of the season, leaving the backup job to Stetson Bennett. Could Ridder hang on as an emergency quarterback under former offensive coordinator Dave Ragone? Maybe he can stay on the practice squad and develop in Sean McVay’s highly sought-after shadow.
Zappe was a fourth-round selection by the Patriots in 2022 and has had some highlights in his two seasons leading the organization. He has started a total of eight games for the organization, including the final six games of the 2023 campaign. He went 4-4 in those starts and struggled late in the season as the Patriots finished last season. Still, he is an ideal backup quarterback who can be counted on to create backup stars when needed.
Potential landing spot: Los Angeles ChargersThere’s a world where Zappe ends up returning to the Patriots via the practice squad, but if we look outside of Foxborough, the Chargers could make sense. Right now, Easton Stick is projected to be the backup behind Justin Herbert and one could argue that Zappe would be an upgrade at that position. In his four starts last season, Stick went 0-4 with an 85.6 passer rating.
When the Kansas City Chiefs traded Toney in October 2022, it seemed like the former first-round wideout was going to be a deadly pairing with Patrick Mahomes. While Toney made some key plays during his tenure with the Chiefs — and has two Super Bowl rings to show for it — he never quite reached the heights most hoped. This summer, he fell behind in a revamped Chiefs receiver room and is now looking for a new team in hopes of tapping into his raw abilities.
Potential landing spot: Washington CommandersThe Commanders just got rid of former first-round pick Jahan Dotson in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, and there are plenty of question marks behind Terry McLaurin at receiver. Toney’s talent could be attractive to this new Washington coaching staff, including offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
Brown has been a productive receiver over the past two seasons, between the Cowboys and Texans. He has back-to-back campaigns of at least 550 receiving yards and has had two monster performances in 2023. In Week 9, he caught all six of his targets for 153 yards and a touchdown, then followed that up the following week with a seven-reception, 172-yard performance. Given that explosive ability, he should be a popular target for teams looking for depth at receiver.
Potential landing spot: Los Angeles Chargers. LA appears to be leaning 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 McConkey and Johnston both have potential, it wouldn’t hurt to give Justin Herbert another outlet like Brown, who could factor into the target share.
Perine continues to be a reliable pass-catching option out of the backfield, even though he’s entering his age-29 season. With the Broncos moving in a different direction with Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin, Perine could be a smart addition for any team looking to bolster its backfield. Last season, he caught 50 of 56 targets for 455 yards.
Potential landing spot: Green Bay Packers. With the news that running back AJ Dillon is gone for the rest of the season, this makes a lot of sense for Green Bay. Perine could be an ideal addition to a depleted backfield behind Josh Jacobs to work in passing situations.
Farley was the 22nd overall pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2021 out of Virginia Tech. He hasn’t lived up to that pick, in part due to a series of injuries he’s dealt with throughout his tenure in Nashville. Farley suffered two torn ACLs dating back to college and also missed the 2023 season with a back injury. Given that the Titans have a completely new regime that has no connection to him and spent the offseason adding L’Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie, his release wasn’t a surprise.
Potential landing site: The Cleveland BrownsIt’s hard to find a team that would be willing to invest in Farley given all of his previous injuries. However, the Browns could be interesting simply because of Farley’s connection to Mike Vrabel, who currently serves the organization as a coaching and personnel consultant. Vrabel was the head coach when Tennessee selected Farley, so that familiarity could be a way for him to get on an NFL team (53-man or practice squad). For the Browns, this is a low-risk, low-cost trade to potentially add a talented defensive back to their secondary.
The Minnesota Vikings selected Cine with the 32nd overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Georgia. His rookie season was cut short by a compound fracture in his left leg and he was limited to seven games last season. Cine had one tackle.
Possible landing place: New York GiantsThe club lost Xavier McKinney early in free agency and continues to have questions at safety heading into the regular season. While Cine shouldn’t be considered a savior at the position, the Giants are the type of rebuilding team that should try to catch lightning in a bottle with Cine’s untapped potential. Provided he stays healthy, of course.
Marshall spent the last three seasons with the Carolina Panthers after the club selected the LSU product in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The former national champion has shined at times during his tenure in the league, but has yet to put it all together. His best NFL season came in 2022, when he caught 28 passes for 490 yards and a touchdown. He played in nine games for the club in 2023
Potential landing site: Buffalo BillsWith Stefon Diggs (via trade) and Gabe Davis (free agent) gone this summer, Buffalo has 241 total targets up for grabs. While rookie Keon Coleman, along with fellow wideouts Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel, and tight end Dalton Kincaid, will take on some of those targets, questions remain in the receiver room. Marshall could be an interesting bet to see if he can build chemistry with Josh Allen. The organization also got a good look at Marshall in the final preseason game, where he caught three balls for 39 yards and a touchdown.
Spiller was selected in the fourth round of the 2022 draft by the Chargers out of Texas A&M. While there was some hype surrounding the former All-SEC the past two seasons, it never came to fruition. He played in just 15 games for the Chargers and rushed 55 times for 137 yards. He also caught all nine of his targets for 47 yards.
Potential landing spot: Las Vegas Raiders. The easy line to draw for Spiller is to Las Vegas, where Tom Telesco currently serves as general manager. He held the same position with the Chargers and drafted Spiller, so it’s possible he still has an affinity for the player and is interested in seeing if they can finally tap into his potential with the Raiders. The club isn’t exactly stacked at the position either, with Zamir White and Alexander Mattison rounding out the top of the depth chart.
Patrick has struggled over the past two years after suffering season-ending injuries the previous two summers. In 2022, his campaign was canceled due to a torn ACL, and a torn Achilles tendon sidelined him for 2023. However, Patrick is healthy and has shown that he can produce in an NFL offense when that’s the case. In his last two seasons on the field (2020 and 2021), Patrick has caught at least 50 balls for 700 yards and five touchdowns.
Potential landing spot: Pittsburgh Steelers. George Pickens is in charge of the receivers room, but questions remain about the charter after him. In addition to Pickens, the team has Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III headlining the receivers room.
