NFL cutdown day is here. A former lineman tells you what it’s like

By Geoff Schwartz
FOX Sports NFL Analyst

The end of the NFL preseason brings with it roster cutdowns, as teams are required to trim their rosters from 80 players to 53 by 4 p.m. ET Tuesday — meaning 864 players will lose their jobs with one phone call. 

Some of those players will quickly find new homes, while some will never see the field again. It’s a rough stretch on the NFL calendar.

I played eight full seasons in the NFL as an offensive lineman. I was released from my contract four times. Each of these times was different, and yet so similar. One minute you have a job and with one phone call, it’s gone.

This phone call can happen at set times when players are “prepared,” like when rosters need to be trimmed during training camp or right before the start of free agency. They can also occur at random times, like in the winter as you’re rehabbing an ankle or during a random spot in training camp. Unfortunately, I’ve experienced all the typical ways an NFL team will release a player. 

In my rookie season, 2008, I was released after the final preseason game with the thought of returning to the Carolina Panthers on their practice squad. The Panthers had told my agent before the final preseason game that I would not be playing because they wanted to “hide me.” A lack of film meant it was less likely I had enough snaps to be evaluated by the NFL. That meant I was less likely to clear waivers, a process that players under four seasons of service time must go through before being outright released. 

This is a good reminder that roster competition is mostly a myth. Teams have 47 to 50 of the players penciled into the 53-man roster before training camp. Camp is used to prepare the two-deep and find those final roster spots.  

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more.