Washington Redskins: 5 Most Surprising Roster Cuts
Aug 31, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden looks on during the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Washington Redskins defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-13. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Redskins officially went from having a 75-man roster to having a 53-man roster. Here were some of their most surprising cuts.
The day of reckoning has arrived. The Washington Redskins officially trimmed their roster down to the 53-man limit on Saturday by cutting 22 players. The roster purge happened all across the NFL, and teams cut many quality players.
For the Redskins, their final cuts were somewhat predictable. Of our final projections, 20 of the 22 roster cuts that occurred were correct. Still, there were some surprise cuts as one always sees at this time of year. With that in mind, he is a look at five players who were really in contention to make the Redskins final roster.
May 26, 2015; Ashbury, VA, USA; Washington Redskins offensive line coach Bill Callahan (L) looks on as Redskins offensive tackle Brandon Scherff (75) and Redskins tackle Takoby Cofield (69) participate in additional drills at the end of the Redskins OTA at Redskins Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
5. OT Takoby Cofield
The Redskins elected to keep nine offensive linemen after cuts on Saturday, and Takoby Cofield was not one of them. Cofield, a tackle, was good in the preseason and looked like he had the potential to develop into a possible swing tackle on game days. However, the Redskins elected to part ways with Cofield and instead kept three interior linemen that will be backup players.
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Though the Redskins do have some versatile players who can play tackle and guard, like Brandon Scherff, it is risky to carry only three true tackles heading into the season. The team will be in a tough situation if any of their players go down, and that makes Cofield a serious contender for a practice squad staff.
I think that the biggest surprise of this whole situation is that the Redskins kept three interior backups. Austin Reiter, Arie Kouandjio, and Shawn Lauvao all project to be guards (or centers too in Reiter’s case) but they definitely will not all suit up on game days. It just seems odd that the team would keep so many interior linemen as opposed to adding a player like Cofield who could develop into a decent swing tackle.
Aug 31, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Washington Redskins defensive tackle Matthew Ioannidis (98) during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Washington Redskins defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-13. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
4. DT Matt Ioannidis
Though Matt Ioannidis was not exactly favored to make the roster heading into cut day, he was firmly on the bubble. The fifth round draft pick out of Temple had endured a mediocre preseason, but he had the potential to develop into a decent nose tackle. Considering that the Redskins do not have an obvious backup at the 3-4 nose guard position, there was a chance that Ioannidis was going to make the roster.
However, his preseason play ended up doing him in as he was unable to make the final roster. Still, it is mildly surprising that the Redskins kept only six defensive linemen. They really may not have a backup nose tackle behind Kedric Golston. As a result, there is a chance Ioannidis could get called up if they need a bigger body.
Ioannidis is a prime candidate for the practice squad. He still has loads of potential and perhaps with an extra year of development time, he will develop into a backup caliber player. It is always surprising when a team has to cut a draft pick so early in his tenure. Ioannidis just happened to be an underdeveloped player on a squad that has a lot of ready to go talent. On another team, he may have made it due to his potential.
Aug 11, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Washington Redskins tight end Logan Paulsen (82) in action against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons defeated the Redskins 23-17. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
3. TE Logan Paulsen
The Redskins have had Logan Paulsen on their team since 2010. The tight end out of UCLA has been a terrific blocker for the team who has shown the ability to catch passes in the past. His time with the Redskins came to an end on Saturday when the team elected to part ways with him.
Paulsen simply did not have a place on the Redskins roster anymore. The team already had stellar dual threat tight end Jordan Reed, a great vertical threat guy in Vernon Davis, and an overall solid player in Niles Paul. They simply did not have the space to keep a tight end whose main purpose would be to block in the run game.
That said, it is still somewhat surprising that Paulsen was cut earlier than another tight end on the roster. Paulsen was one of the first names reported to be cut on Saturday, by Mike Jones of the Washington Post, and it is surprising that Marcel Jensen was not off the roster before him.
Jensen has been a career practice squad player over two NFL seasons and he has already been a part of five franchises. It is hard to imagine that he impressed anyone more than Paulsen, so the surprise here is that Jensen made it as far as he did into the cut day.
Jan 3, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (7) is sacked by New York Giants defensive end Robert Ayers (91) and defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins (99) during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. The Eagles won 35-30. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
2. DL Cullen Jenkins
After the Washington Redskins signed Cullen Jenkins to a one-year deal earlier last week, I was not so optimistic about his chances of making the 53-man roster. However, after Stephen Paea was released, I thought that Jenkins would make the team if he put together a good performance in the final preseason game. Jenkins did just that, recording three tackles and one sacks, and he looked like he would make the final roster.
Then, the Redskins made a surprise move and decided to keep only six defensive lineman despite having a deep and talented group. Granted, they did get more than expected from Ziggy Hood as a free agent signing and they have a few quality starters, but it still seemed like they had a lot of strong rotational players on the roster. They had to make some difficult decisions because of the overall depth of their roster. As a result, one of their most talented positions got trimmed down a little more.
Jenkins’ career is still not over. If the Redskins do not re-sign him at some point during the 2016 season, another team will. He is a quality, versatile veteran who can make an impact for a team during a stretch run. He may be signed later in the season, but the 35-year-old should expect to find work again.
Aug 31, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Washington Redskins running back Mack Brown (34) is tackled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Jeremiah George (52) during the second half of a football game at Raymond James Stadium. The Redskins won 20-13. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
1. RB Mack Brown
The Washington Redskins elected to only keep three running backs on their final roster, and that came at the expense of Mack Brown. Brown, a second year player out of Florida, had a phenomenal preseason and many expected him to make the final roster.
In the final preseason game, Brown shared lead back duties with Robert Kelley and looked fantastic. He showed excellent elusiveness, game breaking speed, and even some tackle breaking ability after running the ball 19 times for 149 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown was one of the bets runs of the preseason, as Brown juked opponents, broke tackles with stiff arms, and used his speed to reach the end zone.
Unfortunately for the young player, the Redskins decided that they did not have the roster space to keep four running backs. Despite Matt Jones’ injury concerns, Brown could not lock down a roster spot. CSN’s Rich Tandler seemed to think that the running back position is just not as important to teams as it used to be.
It is almost certain that Brown will find work somewhere else. The other 31 teams in the league have seen what he is capable of. They may elect to take a chance on him. It would not be a surprise to see him have an impact down the line for another team.