The most notable players released on or before NFL cut down day 2024

The 2024 NFL preseason is over. That means a lot of dreams are about to be dashed.

The three game exhibition slate is the last chance for marginal players to prove they belong on a regular season roster. But once it's over, the league mandates teams cut their lineups from the maximum of 90 allowed in the summer down to 53 for the games that count.

That's going to mean a blizzard of moves across 32 teams, sending undrafted rookies and former Pro Bowlers to the open market. A few will be claimed on waivers to find new homes. Many more will wind up on practices squads. But a significant number will see their NFL hopes dashed by a league that can't find a place for them.

We've got a full accounting of 2024's cuts by team here. But if you're looking for a quick rundown of the biggest names to be served their walking papers without sifting through more than a thousand releases, well, let's see if we can't help you out. These are the well-known veterans (and rookies) to be let go ahead of the NFL cut down deadline.

1. EDGE Deion Jones, Buffalo Bills

Jones was a six-year starter for the Atlanta Falcons, finishing third in defensive rookie of the year voting in 2016 and earning Pro Bowl honors in 2017. He was a rotational player for the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers the last two seasons and now heads to the open market, where a team in need of linebacker depth could come calling this fall.

2. QB Kedon Slovis, Indianapolis Colts

Slovis was a blue chip recruit who once looked like a potential first round draft pick. Instead, he failed to regain the form that made him one of 2019's top freshman before transferring to Pittsburgh, then Brigham Young to wrap up his college career. He went undrafted in 2024 but signed with Indianapolis in hopes of backup up Anthony Richardson. He's likely to slide through to the practice squad, where he'll have a chance to make his impact on the Colts' coaching staff.

3. QB Mike White, Miami Dolphins

White had a moment with the New York Jets, coasting over the subterranean bar of Zach Wilson's quarterbacking in a small sample size. That led him to Miami, where he was meant to be a high value backup to Tua Tagovailoa. But a healthy Tagovailoa played all 17 games last season and head coach Mike McDaniel has opted to use Skylar Thompson as his QB2 going forward in 2024.

4. OT Jackson Carman, Cincinnati Bengals

Carman came into the NFL as a controversial second round pick following accusations of sexual assault dating from his time at Clemson (he was not charged with a crime). He's played just 16 snaps over the last two seasons and made only six starts in his most successful season in the league.

5. EDGE Randy Gregory, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Gregory may have had something to offer the Buccaneers' depleted pass rush. We'll never know, because he never reported to training camp and was instead released. He subsequently retired from football.

6. WR Sterling Shepard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Shepard reunited with his former Oklahoma teammate Baker Mayfield in Tampa, but the 31-year-old failed to make the roster. After only 10 catches in 15 games with the New York Giants last fall, the shifty wideout may be approaching the end of an eight-year NFL career.

7. WR Donovan Peoples-Jones

Peoples-Jones appeared to be on the brink of a breakthrough after an 839-yard 2022 season. But he fell out of the Browns' receiver rotation in 2023 and was traded to Detroit for a sixth-rounder last fall. Despite the Lions' need for wideout depth, he failed to make a lasting impact in Michigan.

8. RBs Matt Breida and Ke'Shawn Vaughn

Both Breida and Vaughn were looking to reclaim their value in Kyle Shanahan's offense behind Christian McCaffrey. But neither was able to make it out of the preseason with a roster spot.

9. WR Russell Gage, Baltimore Ravens

Gage emerged as a viable WR2 at the start of the decade with the Atlanta Falcons. But a move to the Buccaneers turned him into an almost exclusive short range target and he missed the 2023 season due to a torn patellar tendon. He was unable to break into a shallow Ravens receiving rotation but, at 28 years old, could still latch on elsewhere.

10. S Kareem Jackson, Buffalo Bills

The Bills swapped veteran gravitas for veteran gravitas when they brought in Kareem Jackson after discarding safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde this offseason. Jackson has started 193 games in 14 NFL seasons so far. The 36-year-old remains useful in coverage and could be a useful pickup for a team in the playoff race later this fall.

11. K Anders Carlson, Green Bay Packers

Green Bay drafted Carlson in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft in order to replace the long-tenured Mason Crosby. While he was a perfect 20-for-20 with his field goal attempts under 40 yards, he made just 50 percent (seven of 14) of his attempts from deeper than that. Greg Joseph will likely begin the season as the Packers' primary kicker.

12. CB C.J. Henderson, Houston Texans

Henderson was a top 10 draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars lasted only 10 games. He was a mess in Florida and was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2021, where he remained a mess. He has yet to record a passer rating allowed of under 103 in his four season as a pro.

13. WR Allen Robinson, New York Giants

There's an alternate universe where Robinson is a perennial Pro Bowler with a borderline Hall of Fame resume. Instead, he spent the first eight seasons of his career in Jacksonville and Chicago, churning out catches despite playing with quarterbacks like Blake Bortles, Mitch Trubisky and the non-Philadelphia version of Nick Foles. His quest to unite with yet another underwhelming quarterback drafted in the top 10 picks sputtered to a halt when the Giants separated him from Daniel Jones.

14. RB James Robinson, New Orleans Saints

Robinson burst into the NFL as an undrafted free agent, running for more than 1,000 yards with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a rookie. He bolstered that with a solid sophomore effort in 2021 before a torn Achilles ended his season in Week 16. He never fully recovered from that injury, bouncing across a few rosters with less explosion and waning returns on each handoff.

15. DE Carl Lawson, Dallas Cowboys

Lawson burst onto the scene with an eight-sack rookie campaign despite starting only a single game for the Cincinnati Bengals. While he never rounded into an All-Pro, he emerged as a consistent pass rushing threat who racked up more than 20 quarterback hits in four of his first five seasons in the league. But injury cut his 2023 short and now he's set to hit the open market again in 2024.

16. CB Caleb Farley, Tennessee Titans

Farley had back issues in college, but that didn't stop Tennessee from making him a first round pick in 2021. He played 12 total games -- none in 2023 -- and gave up a gruesome 13 yards per target in his limited run as a Titan.

17. S Adrian Amos, Jacksonville Jaguars

Amos was a high profile starter in the NFC North with Pro Bowl-adjacent credentials across eight seasons with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. But his coverage slipped as his 30s neared, leaving him to linger in free agency and, eventually, be discarded by the Jets, Texans and now a secondary-needy Jaguars team.

18. Desmond Ridder, Arizona Cardinals

Ridder was a stud at the University of Cincinnati and given a chance to take the reins as Atlanta's franchise quarterback. But struggles with turnovers and pocket awareness, combined with a low-wattage passing offense, got him shipped to the desert in exchange for Rondale Moore this offseason. Arizona decided he wasn't a fit behind Kyler Murray, but he's unlikely to linger on the open market for long.

19. WR Noah Brown, Houston Texans

Brown is a late bloomer who emerged as a starting wideout for two Texas teams the last two seasons. But Houston's depth chart is loaded with receiving talent, making the 28-year-old an intriguing option for teams looking for a reliable veteran WR3 type.

20. WR Kadarius Toney, Kansas City Chiefs

The man who gave us this:

He also scored a touchdown in Super Bowl 57, but that's not what he'll be best remembered for.

21. WR Robbie Chosen, San Francisco 49ers

The former Robbie Anderson was a surprise star for the New York Jets after rising up from the ranks of the undrafted for a near 1,000-yard season in his second year as a pro. He hit that benchmark in 2020 with the Carolina Panthers, but has been seeking consistency ever since. He has just 927 receiving yards the last three seasons combined.

22. RB D'Onta Foreman, Cleveland Browns

Foreman has long been a useful rotational running back, peaking with more than 900 rushing yards in 2022. But his production slipped in 2023 and he brings little utility in the passing game, leaving a Cleveland team in need of a Nick Chubb replacement early in the season to look elsewhere in Week 1.

23. S Lewis Cine, Minnesota Vikings

Cine was a first round selection in 2022, but his NFL career to date has spanned only seven games and 10 defensive snaps. That's likely why Minnesota was unable to find a trade partner this summer and was instead forced to waive a player it once hoped could be Harrison Smith's heir in the secondary.

24. WR Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos

Patrick proved his value to the Broncos with 700-plus yard seasons in both 2020 and 2021, signing a three-year, $30 million contract in 2022. But injuries robbed him of the following two seasons, and while it sure seems like Bo Nix could use a 6-foot-4 possession receiver with solid hands, head coach Sean Payton thought otherwise.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: The most notable players released on or before NFL cut down day 2024