2024 NFL roster cut takeaways: Falcons not playing with QB depth, Packers rely on two draft picks

The 2024 NFL season is like that message scrawled on your car’s rearview mirror: It’s closer than it looks.

Now that Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET roster deadline has passed, all 32 teams in the league have reduced their rosters from a maximum of 90 players to the in-season maximum of 53. Several backup quarterback roles were set, and some teams made some trades to leave the waiver line.

With the preliminary roster finalized, here are the 12 key takeaways A flurry of steps on Tuesday,

1. The Falcons aren’t messing with QB depth

The Atlanta Falcons have 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 completed just 45.5% (20 of 49) of his passes for 206 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. At times, he looked overwhelmed in three preseason games, putting his roster spot in jeopardy. He made the team, though, and part of that likely has to do with the 36-year-old Cousins ​​recovering from an Achilles injury. Had his health not been a concern, they could have fired Heinicke and replaced him with another quarterback who missed the cut on another team. Instead, Atlanta opted to keep him, likely in part so he could participate in their entire offseason program.

2. Packers GM bets on backup QB, kicker draft picks

The Packers have always solidified their status as a draft-and-develop team when it comes to the quarterback position, and in that regard, general manager Brian Gutekunst is no different than his predecessors Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson.

Gutekunst selected Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford in the fifth round of the 2023 draft and Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt in the seventh round of the 2024 draft to back up starter Jordan Love. Clifford served as Love’s backup as a rookie in 2023, but that won’t matter in 2024. Both were fired and traded by Gutekunst TeaIt’s 2022 third-round selection Malik Willis.He was expected to be cut, but the Packers decided to leave the line.

The Packers front office also waved the white flag on kicker Anders Carlson, a 2023 sixth-round pick. It’s a surprising move, given the draft pick the team spent on the position and the fact that special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia coached his older brother Daniel, the Raiders’ 2022 First-Team All-Pro kicker. Carlson made 27 of his 33 regular season field goals, and he was perfect on his 20 kicks of less than 40 yards. However, he was 7 of 13 on kicks beyond 40 yards, a struggle that reared its head in the postseason.

With Green Bay leading 21–17 with 6:21 remaining against the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers, Carlson missed a 41-yard field goal that was originally a straightaway attempt near the middle of the field. San Francisco took advantage of the miss and scored their only touchdown of the fourth quarter with 1:07 remaining to take a 24–21 lead. The Packers lost by that score while leading by seven and the 49ers had to go the length of the field to tie the game. On Green Bay’s final possession, Love was forced to play hero ball and launched a desperation cross-body heave that was intercepted by linebacker Dre Greenlaw.

Veteran kicker Greg Joseph, who has kicked for the Browns, Titans and Vikings, won the position over the 26-year-old Carlson despite being a 30-year-old outside linebacker. A surprising turn of events. Perhaps Carlson’s miss from 32 yards in the preseason finale against the Ravens sealed the deal.

Finally, Gutekunst has less ego than some general managers, as he was willing to let go of them when he felt these players were no longer providing any value to the team, despite investing in them with draft picks.

3. Desmond Ridder’s downfall continues

Speaking of the Falcons, their former starting quarterback Desmond Ridder, who was once so promising in Atlanta’s eyes that he publicly refused to take NFL MVP Lamar Jackson as a restricted free agent, is no longer good enough to win the backup quarterback competition. He lost out to 2023 fifth-round pick Clayton Tune, as he was clearly outclassed. The last few years have been tough for Ridder, who is now unemployed.

Desmond Ridder vs. Clayton Tune this preseason

4. Bills set to bring Frank Gore Jr. back to the practice squad

Buffalo doesn’t have any established veteran backups, but still felt it was okay to bring out Frank Gore Jr., who impressed this preseason. Gore Jr. put on a stellar performance in the team’s preseason finale, rushing for 101 yards on 18 carries and scoring a touchdown, averaging an impressive 5.6 yards per carry in the process. The son of the NFL’s third all-time rusher, Frank Gore, had plenty of energy and agility.

If no one else selects him it would be reasonable to expect him to join the practice squad, but it would be just as reasonable that one of the other 31 teams selects him. It’s surprising to see Buffalo take this risk after his strong preseason finish.

5. The Titans are trying for an AFC South title and playoff spot

Tennessee acquired the former Rams linebacker and team captain in addition to a 2026 sixth-round pick in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick on roster cutdown day. The Titans have a new starter at inside linebacker, though he is entering the final year of his rookie deal. Ernest Jones IV isn’t the only significant player acquired by Tennessee to make changes to the roster this offseason.

The Titans’ defense has been strengthened by the acquisitions of Super Bowl-winning cornerback Al’Jarius Snead, cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, safety Quandre Diggs, safety Jamal Adams, linebacker Kenneth Murray, defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day and rookie defensive tackle Te’Vondre Sweat. Offensively, the addition of Pro Bowl running back Tyler Boyd, solid center Lloyd Cushenberry and drafting Alabama All-American offensive tackle Jesse Latham has significantly bolstered second-year quarterback Will Lewis’s supporting cast. Tennessee will surely know what they have in store for him by the 2025 offseason, as they’ve got a better ecosystem for development.

6. The Panthers raised their level in the WR room

When a new regime takes over an NFL team, as it did in Carolina in 2024, new head coach Dave Canales and new general manager Dan Morgan have no emotional attachment to the players they inherit. And that was certainly on display Tuesday.

Wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., a 2021 second-round pick, was sent packing after three seasons with the team. He played in 36 games, catching 64 passes for 767 yards and just one touchdown. His performance was less impressive last season, as he played in just nine games and had just 19 catches for 139 yards.

Morgan spent the offseason bolstering his playmakers. He traded cornerback Deonte Jackson and a sixth-round pick to the Steelers to add wide receiver Diontae Johnson and a seventh-round pick and add another steady veteran presence and target for Bryce Young. Morgan then spent three of Carolina’s first four picks in the 2024 NFL Draft on offensive playmakers: South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Leggett (32nd overall), Texas running back Jonathan Brooks (46th overall) and Texas tight end Ja’Tavian Sanders (101st overall).

And with the talent Young has now, there’s no room for the underperforming Marshall.

7. The Bears can develop a (backup) QB

Picture this: Chicago Only This is the greatest franchise in NFL history to not have a single quarterback who threw for 30 touchdowns or 4,000 yards in a single season. They struggled to develop a high-level quarterback, but they were successful in getting backup quarterbacks to play at a good level.

Tyson Bageant, an undrafted free agent out of Division II Shepherd, won the backup quarterback job for the second consecutive year, beating out four-year NFL veteran Brett Rypien and undrafted free agent quarterback Austin Reed from Western Kentucky. This is a good sign for the Bears’ future because if they can continue to develop Bageant, he should easily beat out Caleb Williams.

8. From Broncos trash to Lions treasure?

Denver stood by 28-year-old wide receiver Tim Patrick through a torn ACL in 2022 and a torn Achilles in 2023. He rewarded that patience by catching all five of his targets this preseason, including a touchdown reception from first-round rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

However, it wasn’t enough to keep his roster spot with the Broncos as they surprisingly cut him. He got back on his feet quickly on Tuesday, Signed with the NFC runner-up Detroit Lions. Once an undrafted rookie, Patrick caught 143 passes for 2,009 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns from 2018 to 2021. He will now compete to be the third wide receiver in a Lions offense that includes All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, quarterback Jared Goff, running backs David Montgomery and Jahmir Gibbs, tight end Sam LaPorta and offensive linemen Penei Sewell and Frank Ragnow.

9. The Bengals can no longer tolerate lackluster offensive play

The path for Cincinnati to win the AFC North title is simple: keep quarterback Joe Burrow healthy for a full season. He didn’t do that during his rookie year in 2023 (wrist) and 2020 (knee), and Cincy missed the playoffs. When Burrow was on the field in 2021 and 2022, the Bengals had the seventh-ranked scoring offense each season, and they either won the AFC or finished as the AFC runner-up.

Still, they felt comfortable moving on from 2021 second-round offensive lineman Jackson Carman. They did so after bolstering their offensive line by signing 2024 Super Bowl champion offensive tackle Trent Brown to a one-year, $4.75 million deal and using their 18th overall selection on the 2024 NFL Draft’s top physical specimen at the offensive tackle position, Georgia’s Amarius Mims, who stands 6-8 and 340. Mims didn’t allow a single sack in 30 career games, eight starts — including both College Football Playoff games en route to the 2022 national title — as a Bulldog.

In years past, Cincy might have kept Carmen around out of desperation. But that’s not the case anymore.

10. Mac Jones somewhat restored the NFL’s credibility

Mac Jones left the Patriots battered and bruised after a Pro Bowl rookie season in 2021 followed by two turbulent seasons in 2022 and 2023. The Pats traded Jones to the Jaguars, and this preseason, he showed he definitely still belongs in the NFL, maybe even as a starter in the right situation.

In Jacksonville, he would be the obvious backup behind Trevor Lawrence, but Jones tore defenses apart this preseason. He completed 73.1% of his passes (38 of 52) for 421 yards and three touchdowns. This resulted in a 115.9 passer rating in his three preseason games. Jones definitely looks like he can still play, as the Jaguars have him locked in as their QB2 for the upcoming season.

11. Texans WR Tank Dale is fully healthy and ready to play

The release of six-year NFL veteran wide receiver Noah Brown reveals one big thing: Texans second-year receiver Tank Dale is fully healthy and ready to play. He suffered a leg injury while blocking a goal-line run in Week 13 against the Broncos that ended his season, and Dale survived a minor gunfight A bullet grazed his leg and came out the other side earlier this offseason in Florida.

Dale’s seven receiving touchdowns through the first 13 weeks of last season were the fifth-most in the NFL before he was sidelined with an injury to his fibula. Being comfortable with cutting a capable depth piece in the Browns shows that Dale is ready to go.

12. Lions confident in healthy Hendon hooker

Hendon Hooker entered the NFL as a 2023 third-round pick recovering from a torn ACL, but a year later, he sat out the preseason. Hooker completed 29 of his 44 passes for 300 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. That was in addition to a total of 138 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, averaging 7.3 yards per carry.

Detroit co-signed his preseason performance after waiving veteran Nate Sudfeld, clearing the way for the 26-year-old Hooker to take over backup quarterback duties behind starter Jared Goff. That’s not a bad situation for the second-year passer, as he’s just a year removed from rehabbing a torn ACL.