When NFL teams trim their rosters to 53 players this weekend, most of the casualties will be journeyman backups, undrafted free agents and other youngsters who have not yet latched on with a franchise.
But every year, a few big names get thrown into that category, too. Late-career veterans seeking one more season before hanging up their cleats are often just as vulnerable as unheralded first-year professionals.
When former Pro Bowlers fail to make the cut in the coming days, they may still have chances to sign elsewhere and go out on their own terms. And when former first-round picks receive bad news, perhaps another team will take a shot on them, hoping to unlock the breakout season that eluded them in the opening years of what were supposed to be illustrious careers.
Roster cutdown season is no fun for anyone, but for these big-name veterans, it may be especially difficult to come to terms with the fact that their football days could be nearing an end.
Here are 20 notable veterans at risk of being cut.
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
The path for Odell Beckham Jr. to appear in regular-season games for the Giants for the first time since 2018 became clearer Tuesday when Calvin Austin III sustained a serious knee injury.
It is still an uphill battle for the three-time Pro Bowler to stay on the right side of the cut line, especially since he is far from the same receiver who starred early in his career in New York.
At 33 and nearly two years removed from his last NFL snap, he might not have much more to give. It would be excellent theater, though, for Beckham to close his career with one more season where it all began.
IOL Evan Neal
Evan Neal did not stick at tackle, where he arrived as the No. 7 overall pick in 2022. Instead, he is seeking to remake himself as a guard. The Giants declined the option in his rookie contract, but he ended up re-signing with them on a veteran minimum deal this spring.
His value has tanked, and there is a new coaching staff in place, so it is entirely possible that Neal goes from a highly touted potential cornerstone tackle to an afterthought on the interior in just four years.
TE Darren Waller
The unretirement tour continues for Darren Waller. Will it carry into the regular season, though?
He joined the Panthers during training camp as another option in a tight end group that disappointed in 2025, but he does not bring much upside himself as a 34-year-old whose best season is now six years in the rearview.
Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans are the top two options, so the question is whether there is room for both Ja’Tavion Sanders and Waller.
WR Mecole Hardman Jr.
Three Super Bowl titles and an All-Pro selection as a rookie give Mecole Hardman Jr. an illustrious résumé for someone on the roster bubble.
His prime was short-lived, though, coming in the first four years of his career. Hardman has not scored a touchdown since 2022 and played two games for the Bills last year only because they were desperate enough at wide receiver to elevate him from the practice squad.
WR Sterling Shepard
The Texans pulled off a masterful trade Monday for Kayshon Boutte, filling a major need in the receiving unit while also putting Sterling Shepard’s job at risk.
Shepard arrived just a couple of days earlier as a potential replacement for the injured Jayden Higgins, who tore his ACL during a joint practice and is out for the year. Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Jaylin Noel, Xavier Hutchinson and now Boutte are all ahead of Shepard in the pecking order, so his stay in Houston might be extremely short-lived.
EDGE Emmanuel Ogbah
Seven years after he won a Super Bowl in Kansas City, Emmanuel Ogbah is back — for a couple of weeks during training camp, at least.
The former No. 32 overall pick had a handful of nice years with the Dolphins following that championship season, including back-to-back campaigns with nine sacks.
But even on a Chiefs team that needs to be better at pressuring the pocket in 2026, the summer acquisition is no guarantee to stick around into the regular season.
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
The Cowboys picked up journeyman receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling after the draft as a depth option in an already loaded receiving unit.
His outlook as an impact player was bleak at the time of signing, given that he is coming off the worst year of his career — a 120-yard campaign over 10 games with two teams — and the Cowboys already have a clear top four in their wideout corps. There are probably not enough scraps left to pick up behind CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and the rest.
WR Tim Patrick
Brutal injury luck disrupted Tim Patrick’s career. After he broke out with the Broncos with consecutive 700-yard, five-touchdown seasons, he missed each of the next two years with ACL and Achilles injuries. To his credit, he bounced back to play in 32 games over the past two seasons with the Lions and Jaguars.
His comeback story might reach a roadblock in New York, but if it does, another team ought to grab him and see if there is anything left in the tank.
DT Mazi Smith
Despite his status as a 2023 first-round pick, Mazi Smith is already on his second team and could shortly be searching for a third.
The Cowboys made him a healthy scratch multiple times and moved on from him in just his third year when they traded him to the Jets as part of the Quinnen Williams deal.
New York did not have much use for him, either. And following a host of defensive moves this offseason, the Jets have a new-look defense that might not include Smith.
QB Will Levis
There was a brief period when Will Levis was supposed to be the Titans’ franchise quarterback. Three years after Tennessee made him the first player off the board on Day 2 of the 2023 draft, he could be out the door.
It comes down to whether the Titans will carry two quarterbacks or three. Cam Ward is the face of the franchise, and Mitchell Trubisky is the clear choice to be his backup given his familiarity with Brian Daboll’s scheme. If this first-year staff only wants two quarterbacks, the Levis experience is over.
WR Laquon Treadwell
He never reached the level expected of him as the No. 23 overall pick, but credit Laquon Treadwell for partially reframing his narrative from draft bust to someone who put together a lengthy career.
This will be Year 10 for Treadwell if he sticks with the Colts, but after he went back and forth between Indianapolis’ active roster and practice squad a year ago, there is already precedent for his release. Alec Pierce’s slow recovery from ankle surgery helps his cause, but the arrival of Keenan Allen does not.
DT Jerry Tillery
It has been nothing but one-year contracts for Jerry Tillery since the Chargers declined his fifth-year option in 2022. The Colts are already his fifth team in four years.
General manager Chris Ballard has to decide how much depth he wants to keep in the trenches because, while Tillery is arguably good enough to make the roster, there is only room for so many defensive tackles. The former first-round pick has been a part-time starter at all of his previous stops, though, so there is value in keeping him around.
WR Phillip Dorsett
The final stages of Phillip Dorsett’s career have been as bumpy as the first. He was traded before the end of his rookie deal and had his fifth-year option declined. Fast-forward about a decade, and now he is fighting to make his first regular-season appearance since 2023.
Dorsett spent the 2025 season on the Raiders’ practice squad and is likely destined for the same fate this year as Las Vegas seeks to put the best weapons in place around No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza.
RB Ameer Abdullah
Ameer Abdullah’s tremendous rookie year, in which he posted a career-best 597 rushing yards and led the NFL with 1,077 kick return yards, was no harbinger of stardom, but he carved out important special teams and backup running back roles with myriad teams over the ensuing nine years.
The Jaguars are in a good place with their three-man backfield and would be hard-pressed to justify using a roster spot on Abdullah solely as a returner, so he appears destined for the practice squad. That is the role he held with the Colts for most of 2025.
RB Dameon Pierce
The surprise 939-yard rookie season that made Dameon Pierce seem like a steal as a fourth-round pick feels far away. It was only four years ago, but since then, Pierce’s workload has diminished by the season, as he has made more of an impact on special teams than in the backfield.
He spent a couple of weeks on the Chiefs’ practice squad last fall after the Texans released him, and now he is seeking to latch on with the Eagles. The problem is that Saquon Barkley exists, while Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley are already locked into backup roles.
QB Cooper Rush
First things first: The Falcons need to sort out the top two quarterbacks. The focus is less on whether Cooper Rush makes the team as the No. 3 and more on whether Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr. will be under center come Week 1.
Complicating things for Rush is the emergence of undrafted free agent Jack Strand, who dazzled in his first two preseason games as a relative unknown out of the Division II ranks. Rush remains among the NFL’s most respected backup quarterbacks but might have to sign elsewhere to have a chance at finding playing time.
WR Van Jefferson
Not long after he played a key role in the Rams winning the 2022 Super Bowl with career highs in receptions (50), receiving yards (802) and touchdowns (6), Van Jefferson was briefly the No. 1 receiver in Los Angeles. During a Cooper Kupp absence, Jefferson was supposed to take over as the top target, but Puka Nacua’s emergence derailed his Rams tenure.
Since then, Jefferson has been a part-time starter for the Falcons, Steelers and Titans. He could carve out that same role with the Commanders, but it could be difficult considering the team’s wide receiver depth.
RB Khalil Herbert
After spending two years as a backup, Khalil Herbert finally got his chance to shine as the Bears’ starting running back to open the 2023 season. An ankle injury disrupted what could have been his breakout campaign, though, and the following year he totaled just 130 yards between the Bears and Bengals.
Herbert was one of numerous additions to the 49ers’ backfield this offseason and looks to be one of multiple roster-limit casualties, as San Francisco can only carry so much insurance for Christian McCaffrey.
IOL Trevor Penning
The Saints drafted Trevor Penning in the first round in 2022 with aspirations of making him their long-term left tackle. Recurring foot injuries during his rookie year delayed his development, and while he eventually settled in as the every-week starter by 2024, his New Orleans tenure came to a halt when the Chargers traded for him as an injury fill-in at guard.
Los Angeles’ maligned offensive line is now mostly healthy and rebuilt, so there is less need for Penning, who would be nothing more than a second-teamer if he stuck on the roster. Considering all it cost to get him was a sixth-round pick, the Chargers can easily cut bait.
CB Noah Igbinoghene
The highlight of Noah Igbinoghene’s career came in 2024, when he served as a 10-game starter due to injuries elsewhere in the Commanders’ secondary. Outside of that run, the No. 30 pick in the 2022 draft delivered very little in the way of first-round production.
He spent quite a bit of time as a special teams contributor during his stops in Miami and Dallas, but he might be able to secure a backup cornerback job in Seattle now that he has shown more ability to cover on the perimeter, not just in the slot.
