At some level, whether it was once per week as last season or a couple throughout preseason as in years past, cuts have been a part of the NFL preseason.
The Houston Texans won’t have to make any final evaluations until after their exhibition finale at the New Orleans Saints on Aug. 27. The NFL mandates all teams cut down a 53-man roster on Aug. 29.
While DeMeco Ryans may be in his first year as coach, he was a part of the San Francisco 49ers’ staff under Kyle Shanahan going back to 2017. At some level, Ryans has had input into finalizing cuts.
Ryans explained why he believed the league was going with a big cut day rather than staggering the releases as in years past.
“With the one big cut at the end of training camp, I think the thought process from the NFL is just to have more guys available for that last preseason game because what you see happen is you make cuts and you end up in that last game, and a lot of guys are taxed because your starters are not playing that last preseason game, and you have a lot of guys who are playing offense, defense and all the special teams [snaps], so making it one big cut allows you to have enough guys, a big enough roster,” Ryans told reporters Aug. 3. “So, if you want to take care of the starters, you can during that particular time, but you’re also not wearing out the younger guys there.”
More bodies for the finale should help teams preserve contributors for sundry packages on offense and defense while also giving special teams coaches peace of mind that their standouts have a lower chance of injury.
