Darnell Dockett, IK Enemkpali among the early NFL cuts

With the preseason over, each team needs to cut down to 53 players by Saturday afternoon, but many teams started the process Friday.

Among the notable names who were reportedly cut on Friday include San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Darnell Dockett, Buffalo Bills pass rusher IK Enemkpali, New York Giants punter Steve Weatherford, Houston Texans defensive tackle Louis Nix, Philadelphia Eagles guard John Moffitt and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Da'Quan Bowers and kicker Connor Barth.

Dockett is a three-time Pro Bowler who never missed a game his first 10 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. Then he missed 2014 with a knee injury, signed with the 49ers but couldn't crack the roster according to Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area.

[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football: Sign up and join a league todayl]

Enemkpali became infamous for punching New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith this preseason and breaking his jaw. His old Jets coach Rex Ryan picked him up in Buffalo, but he was unable to make the team.

The Giants decided to swap out punters. Weatherford (known for being in insanely good shape) was let go. To replace him the team sent a conditional seventh-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for punter Brad Wing, ESPN reported.

Nix's release is another sign that the Texans' 2014 draft could be historically bad unless Jadeveon Clowney gets healthy and saves it. Nix was a third-round pick and he's already gone. The team, which needs a quarterback, somehow didn't land Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater or Derek Carr in the 2014 draft. The Texans passed on Carr to pick guard Xavier Su'a-Filo in the second round. Su'a-Filo started one game as a rookie.

Moffitt was an interesting preseason story. He abruptly retired in 2013, then battled drug and alcohol issues before attempting a comeback with the Eagles. CSN Philly and other outlets reported he was released.

[Yahoo Daily Fantasy Football: Enter our $1 Million Week 1 contest]

The Buccaneers cut Bowers, a high-profile second-round pick in 2011 who finishes his Buccaneers career with seven sacks. Rookie Kyle Brindza will be the Buccaneers' kicker after they cut Barth, according to Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune.

- - - - - - -

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab