1 notable veteran (Melvin Gordon?) who could be cut or traded for all 32 NFL teams this preseason

The NFL roster cutdown date is August 29. Here are the big names who could be looking for new homes by September.

Training camp practices have ramped up to full pads as August hits full swing. Soon, swollen rosters will be trimmed down to the NFL’s regular season limit of 53 players.

That’ll make August 29 a brutal day for young hopefuls and veterans looking  to extend their careers by one more season. Cutdown day will shear rosters nearly in half, dropping 47 players to waivers and then, barring a last-ditch reprieve from a needy team elsewhere, onto the open market.

Each August, a handful of big-name players get caught in that chop. This preseason will give us more of the same — though it may be short on star power.

This year’s list of cut candidates lacks a certain panache. Teams spent wisely this offseason and made their difficult decisions back in March, leaving a dearth of big names who seem destined to be cast back to free agency as summer turns to fall. As a result, some of the players on the list are former starters or high value draft picks who haven’t quite made a lasting impact on the league. Other teams are well managed enough — or simply not in the market of trying to hard in 2023 — that they can hang on to their veterans and wait and see if a trade market opens up during the season.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the potential veteran cuts on which each team will have to make a tough decision this August.

8 standout performers for Chargers through one week of training camp

Training camp has only been underway for a week, but these Chargers are standing out in the early going.

The Chargers are still a week into their training camp program in Costa Mesa, CA. It’s important to remember that when talking about player stock with plenty of time left in the offseason, plus three preseason games.

That being said, there are some standouts for Los Angeles in the early going.

Michael Thomas looks like his old self, George Pickens wrecked a guy and more training camp updates

Is this the return of Slant Boy? And what are we learning about Anthony Richardson besides (explosion noises)?

NFL training camps rolled on without incident Tuesday, ringing in August and marking the start of our last month without meaningful pro football. That meant another day in full pads and something approaching full speed. Teams unveiled new pages in their playbooks and ran 300 pound men through conditioning drills with an eye on Super Bowl 58.

While Tuesday’s practices were short on headlines, they carried several low-simmering narratives upward toward a regular season boil. We saw a little more of what young quarterbacks will have to work with this fall and got a better idea of what Derek Carr’s mid-career revival could look like in New Orleans. So what stood out on a crowded day of camp?

NFL training camp updates: Jordan Love, Calvin Ridley show out before prove-it seasons

Love and Ridley gave their fans license to dream. Bill Belichick did a very Bill Belichick thing.

Training camp isn’t just an opportunity for rookies and fringe roster players to make their case for roster spots. It’s also about veterans stepping into new roles or new surroundings with a chance to impress, setting off a hype cycle that feeds itself throughout August and into Week 1.

Monday’s practices were filled with moments like these. In Wisconsin, the next man up in a string of Hall of Fame quarterbacks looked capable of rising to the moment. In Jacksonville, a tarnished star looked like his old self for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. And in Buffalo, a very large man rumbled for a touchdown because football is artwork sometimes.

This all comes with a grain of salt, obviously. Showing out in training camp doesn’t mean any of these skills will translate when sparring becomes an actual fight come September. Still, there’s a chance Monday’s big performances were a preview of star power yet to come. So who stood out the most?

NFL training camp digest: Lots of BEEF, including Jonathan Taylor-Jim Irsay and Sean Payton-Aaron Rodgers

Sean Payton wasn’t wrong when he excoriated Nathaniel Hackett. That didn’t stop Aaron Rodgers from firing back anyway.

The first full weekend of NFL training camp practices came and went, giving teams the opportunity to take reps in front of throngs of interested fans aching for a return to the gridiron. But the biggest action didn’t come on the field this weekend. Instead, headlines came from what was said in press conferences and in negotiations behind closed doors.

That means while we could turn our attention to the uplifting progress of John Metchie’s return from leukemia or Mac Jones’ improvement now that Matt Patricia has been removed from his orbit, this weekend’s developments mostly focus on things that aren’t actually football.

Like, say, a verbal joust between a future Hall of Fame head coach and a future Hall of Fame quarterback. Or the ongoing drama between 2021’s top running back and his entirely-too-online team owner.

LOOK: Photos of Bijan Robinson during Falcons training camp

Bijan Robinson is currently taking part in his first NFL training camp.

Former Texas running back Bijan Robinson is currently taking part in his first NFL training camp. Continue reading “LOOK: Photos of Bijan Robinson during Falcons training camp”

Steelers OC Matt Canada signed a toilet seat for fan at training camp

Steelers fans are not hiding their frustrations with the offense.

Autographs are a fairly routine part of open practice sessions at NFL training camps. It’s just that, usually, players sign a jersey or some other piece of memorabilia.

Not in Pittsburgh.

It’s no secret that Steelers fans aren’t particularly pleased with offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who helmed a struggling offense in 2022 that finished in the bottom half of the league in terms of yards and points per game.

Many thought head coach Mike Tomlin would opt for a change, but Canada — who is currently in his second playcalling stint in Pittsburgh — returns in 2023. And after the team finished a practice session at training camp in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, (seemingly on Friday) Canada was spotted signing a toilet seat for a frustrated fan.

Hey, credit to Canada for taking the joke in stride.

Steelers fans will hope that the toilet seat isn’t an omen of what’s to come as the team enters quarterback Kenny Pickett’s second season in the league following what was an up-and-down rookie campaign.

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WATCH: Falcons RB Bijan Robinson goes viral after shaking defender

The former Texas running back is already making headlines in the NFL.

One thing that Texas fans will miss about former running back Bijan Robinson is just how silly he could make defenders look when they try to tackle him. Continue reading “WATCH: Falcons RB Bijan Robinson goes viral after shaking defender”

Joe Burrow will miss several weeks with calf strain, avoids major injury

Joe Burrow was carted off the field at Bengals training camp on Thursday.

Bengals fans were living through a potential nightmare on Thursday afternoon.

Star quarterback Joe Burrow limped off the field after suffering an apparent non-contact injury while rolling to his right at training camp. The Pro Bowler ultimately had to be carted off and taken to the locker room.

Coach Zac Taylor told reporters after practice that Burrow had suffered a calf injury, though he provided no further details at the time.

Burrow wasn’t in attendance at Friday’s practice session, and at its conclusion, Taylor told the press that Burrow suffered a calf sprain and will miss “several weeks.”

The injury will likely hold Burrow out for the remainder of training camp, and he could miss the start of the preseason, as well, depending on the timeline. Taylor was non-committal when asked if the recovery process could potentially carry into the regular season.

This comes amid negotiations between Burrow and the Bengals on a long-term contract extension. Burrow’s current deal has two remaining years on it after Cincinnati picked up his fifth-year option in April.

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NFL training camp updates July 27: Joe Burrow tweaks his calf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s (chef’s kiss) catch

A big of high profile injuries, one heck of a Jaxon Smith-Njigba catch, and a former top 10 draft pick retires after 6 seasons.

The NFL’s Hall of Fame Game is six days away. That means our long, arduous football desert — stretching from the USFL’s championship game July 1 to the real thing’s preseason opener August 3 — is nearly over.

It also means training camps across the league have begun, giving coaches, fans and journalists a look at their local teams after an offseason filled with roster building. While these practices may only be a preamble to the pages in the playbooks that define Super Bowl wins, they still set the tone for the upcoming season while giving a gridiron-starved nation something to grab onto in the sleepiest summer months.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at yesterday’s biggest training camp developments, starting with injury scares that could throw a wrench in AFC title plans for Cincinnati and Miami.