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Check here for a full list of San Diego’s roster moves.



Biggest surprise: If there was surprise cut it was Nathan Vasher. The cornerback was supposed by a key backup. But San Diego definitely kept enough defensive players. Of the 53 players on the roster, 29 of them are defensive players. San Diego kept 21 offensive players and three specialists. San Diego has 10 linebackers and 11 defensive backs. The team kept four receivers. That is a very low number. However, all four receivers on the roster – Malcom Floyd, Legedu Naanee, Buster Davis and newly acquired Patrick Crayton -– will be active on game day. Veteran Josh Reed was cut.



No-brainers: The Chargers kept both fullbacks, Mike Tolbert and Jacob Hester. Both players are very valuable. San Diego kept two undrafted rookies, linebacker Brandon Lang and tackle Ryan Otterson. Both players were good in training camp and provide depth at key positions.



What’s next: San Diego could look at help at receiver and tackle. The team is officially without holdouts Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill. Jackson could still be traded, and McNeill could still show up to the team. But, for now, it looks like San Diego is heading to the regular season without both Jackson and McNeill, and without any solution in sight. Jackson is essentially going to miss six games because of an NFL suspension and a roster exemption list San Diego put him on. McNeill is facing a three-game wait because he is also on the roster exemption list.

Check here for a full list of the Philadelphia Eagles‘ roster moves.



Biggest surprise: At the last minute, the Eagles were able to move Stacy Andrews and his reduced (but still too large) salary to the Seahawks for a seventh-round pick in 2011. Andrews had been a huge disappointment for the Eagles and now they feel fortunate to receive anything in return for him. Of the cuts, safety Quintin Demps was probably the biggest surprise. He ended up in Andy Reid’s doghouse last season, but he made strides this offseason in having a better attitude. But with rookie Nate Allen claiming the starting safety spot, Demps apparently became expendable. He was a decent return man, but not good enough to warrant a roster spot. Guard Max Jean-Gilles was released, but he’ll be brought back Sunday. The Eagles missed the 6 p.m. ET trade deadline on Andrews, so that’s why that happened with Jean-Gilles.



No-brainers: I lot of folks were pulling for Chad Hall as a return man, but he simply didn’t have enough success in the preseason. Wide receiver Jordan Norwood catches everything, so he’ll be a good practice squad candidate. Tight end Cornelius Ingram will probably make it through to the practice squad as well. You knew it was a bad sign for Macho Harris recently when he was bouncing between positions. Looked like a player at this time last year but he never took the next step.



What’s next: General manager Howie Roseman will be on the hunt for safeties and cornerbacks. I like the trade for defensive end Antwan Barnes from the Ravens. He was an excellent fourth-round pick for the Ravens in ’07 and he has a lot of explosion coming off the edge. He’ll be a good fit in the Eagles’ up-the-field pass-rush, according to some AFC scouts I spoke to Saturday. Unlike the Cowboys, I think the Eagles will continue to churn the bottom of this roster. We’ll keep you posted throughout the rest of the holiday weekend. It’s interesting that the Eagles kept six cornerbacks and the Cowboys three. The Eagles only kept two tight ends, so they’ll be looking around for help at that position.

Biggest surprise: The Rams aren’t good enough yet to produce a big surprise on cutdown day. I’ll address a few mild ones. Rookies Jermelle Cudjo and George Selvie stuck on the defensive line, where Victor Adeyanju was the odd man out. The Rams parted with third-string quarterback Keith Null, who started four games last season. They dumped linebacker Bobby Carpenter, acquired from Dallas in the Alex Barron trade, after trying him at defensive end. In the secondary, I thought Quincy Butler might stick at cornerback after serving as a spot starter amid injury problems last season. At running back, Chris Ogbonnaya looked good in relief against Arizona last season and the Rams had some hopes for him early in the offseason, but he simply didn’t run the ball well enough to earn a roster spot (even though the Rams’ poor depth behind Steven Jackson has been a primary storyline all offseason).



No-brainers: The Rams kept only eight offensive linemen initially because the depth beyond their starters simply wasn’t very good. On defense, safety Kevin Payne‘s injury situation cost him a chance at providing depth while James Butler recovers from a knee injury. Coach Steve Spagnuolo talked up rookie running back Keith Toston a few times, and he has long appreciated Kenneth Darby‘s toughness. But if the Rams can find upgrades, they should consider their options.



What’s next: The Rams hold the NFL’s No. 1 waiver priority following their 1-15 record last season. Expect them to make a few claims in an effort to upgrade their roster. Most teams keep nine offensive linemen. The Rams could be active at that position. They could use a backup for Jackson. And with receiver Donnie Avery on injured reserve, the Rams could explore the trade market.



Rams players cut:

QB Keith Null

RB Chris Ogbonnaya

FB Dennis Morris

WR Danario Alexander

WR Jordan Kent

WR Brandon McRae

TE Darcy Johnson

OL Roger Allen

OL Tim Mattran

OL Ryan McKee

OL Drew Miller

OL Eric Young (IR).

DL Victor Adeyanju

DL Ernest Reid

LB Devin Bishop

LB Bobby Carpenter

LB Cardia Jackson

CB Quincy Butler

CB Marquis Johnson

CB Antoine Thompson

SS Brett Johnson

SS Kevin Payne (IR)

Click here for a full list of Carolina’s roster moves.



Biggest surprise: There really were no surprise cuts, so the real surprise might be who actually did make the roster. The biggest shocker is that undrafted free agent Andre Neblett still is on the roster as a defensive tackle. A Temple product, Neblett took the Panthers by surprise and allowed them to cut Corvey Irvin and Tank Tyler, who went to camp looking like they had shots at roster spots.



No-brainer: When the Panthers went through their June workouts, and even at the start of training camp, Hunter Cantwell was working as the No. 2 quarterback behind Matt Moore. A lot of fans read way too much into that and the proof came as Cantwell was cut Saturday. Although the Panthers liked the guy who spent some time on their practice squad last year, Cantwell never really had a chance. With the Panthers taking Jimmy Clausen in the second round and Tony Pike in the sixth, it was clear Cantwell’s days were numbered. Coach John Fox is a creature of habit and Cantwell got some time in the No. 2 role simply because he knew the offense. As soon as Clausen had the playbook memorized, he stepped into the backup role. That left a minor competition between Cantwell and Pike. As the draft pick, the only way Pike was going to lose out was if he had a disastrous preseason. He did not.



What’s next: In the old days, Fox and general manager Marty Hurney usually set their opening roster in stone and didn’t touch it unless there were injuries. But these aren’t the old days with Carolina deeply into a youth movement. Hurney was active at this time last year, touching up the defensive tackle jobs and he’s likely to be active in several areas this year. The Panthers don’t feel great about their linebacker depth beyond Jamar Williams. Depth at wide receiver also looks to be an area the Panthers might be looking to improve.

Check here for a full list of roster moves.



Biggest surprise: Outside linebacker Derrick Burgess kept the Patriots waiting while he contemplated retirement at the start of training camp. The Patriots probably helped push him back toward a pensive mood when they dropped the two-time Pro Bowler. The Patriots have pass-rush concerns, and Burgess tied for second with five sacks last year. The development of second-round draft choice Jermaine Cunningham certainly played a role in New England’s decision. Also notable that second-year offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger was dropped despite the Patriots’ interior issues and the fact they aggressively drafted him from Penn State in the fourth round last year. The Patriots traded cornerback Ellis Hobbs for a pair of fifth-round picks and then turned those assets into the fourth-round pick they used on Ohrnberger. He dressed for only three games last year.



No-brainers: The Patriots chose to keep five running backs, which is what they did last year. Fred Taylor, Kevin Faulk, Sammy Morris, Laurence Maroney and BenJarvus Green-Ellis. With safety Brandon McGowan placed on injured reserve with a chest injury, they made a nice trade with the Kansas City Chiefs and old friend Scott Pioli for safety Jarrad Page.



What’s next: Bill Belichick never stops tweaking, particularly at the bottom of the roster. So this list of 53 probably will change before opening day. The Patriots, in need of support at defensive end, could bring back Jarvis Green, cut by the Denver Broncos on Saturday. Green played all eight of his NFL seasons with the Patriots and started 13 games at left end before signing with the Broncos as a free agent. Right defensive end Ty Warren is out for the year with a hip injury. The Patriots also released veteran defensive end Damione Lewis on Friday.

The Jets are moving on without Darrelle Revis.

Check here for a full list of Houston’s roster moves.



Biggest surprises: At times, the Texans touted running backs Jeremiah Johnson and Chris Henry. But they are both gone now, Johnson likely due at least in part to a toe injury. Veteran Derrick Ward gets the last running back spot, and the Texans will move forward with Arian Foster, Steve Slaton and Ward as they look for a big jump from their running game. Another player that got some early hype from Gary Kubiak, defensive tackle Malcolm Sheppard, didn’t stick.



No-brainers: Considering quality and draft status ahead of them, low-ranking depth chart guys were easy choices for the waiver wire: Receivers Bobby Williams and Derrick Townsel, offensive tackles Steve Maneri, Brett Helms and Cole Pemberton, defensive tackle Mitch Unrein, linebacker Will Patterson and cornerback Mark Parson. Perhaps we will see a few of them who did OK resurface on the practice squad.



What’s next: With the running back issue resolved, the Texans might not have too much waiver-wire surfing to do. They could upgrade over Jesse Nading at their final end spot. While they are quite young with their five cornerbacks, they seemed committed to them all, at least right now. While they put Kris Brown and Andre Davis on IR and Anthony Hill on PUP, they did not announce Brian Cushing is on the suspended-reserve list. So they might still be in line to gain one roster spot.

Biggest surprise: The Cowboys are trying to become one of the first NFL teams to begin a season with only three cornerbacks. I seem to recall the Giants being in that situation in Week 2 last season, but it wasn’t really their choice. The Cowboys cut veteran cornerback Cletis Gordon after he had, by all accounts, an excellent training camp. He struggled in the last couple preseason games and that may have done him in. Gordon had somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 interceptions in camp. It’s also mildly surprising that former reality TV star Jesse Holley was released. The Cowboys decided to keep special teams ace Sam Hurd over Holley. It remains to be seen whether Hurd agreed to accept a paycut. He’s owed $1.7 million this season. The Dallas Morning News reported Saturday that Hurd refused to take a pay cut. We’ll try to get to the bottom of that this evening. It was a little surprising to see the Cowboys release nose tackle Junior Siavii. He’s been pretty steady this preseason, but it looks like they’ll go with youth behind Jay Ratliff.



No-brainers: There’s no room on this roster for four running backs and that’s why Herb Donaldson and Lonyae Miller were released. One of those players could end up on the practice squad. I thought Miller was the better player, but it seemed like Donaldson received more snaps in the preseason. I loved guard Mike Tepper‘s backstory coming out of Cal, so perhaps he can land on the practice squad. Bryan McCann is an intriguing prospect at cornerback. I talked to two different teams who have been scouting him in the preseason, so he might have a tough time making it through to the practice squad.



What’s next: I’d probably mix in another cornerback before the first game but maybe they think fourth round pick Akwasi Owusu-Ansah is versatile enough to help them in a pinch. The Cowboys only kept two tight ends, so I’d definitely try to get Martin Rucker on the practice squad. Look for the Cowboys to scour the waiver wire for backup offensive linemen. Coach Wade Phillips hates cutting players once they have “made” the 53-man roster but the Cowboys have to protect themselves. I think this roster is pretty vulnerable in some areas. We’ll keep an eye on things tonight and Sunday.



List of Cowboys players cut:

OT Will Barker

OG Travis Bright

DE Marcus Dixon

RB Herb Donaldson

TE DajLeon Farr

CB Cletis Gordon

WR Jesse Holley

WR Manny Johnson

OLB Curtis Johnson

CB Bryan McCann

RB Lonyae Miller

LB Steve Octavien

TE Jason Pociask

TE Martin Rucker

DT Jimmy Saddler-McQueen

LB Brandon Sharpe

DE Junior Siavii

OL Mike Tepper

CB Jamar Wall

CB Teddy Williams

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) – Outside linebacker Derrick Burgess and special teams captain Sam Aiken were released by the New England Patriots in surprising moves Saturday.

Check here for a full list of Tennessee’s roster moves.



Biggest surprises: Running back Samkon Gado ran ahead of LeGarrette Blount since he was added, but Gado lost out to the unproven rookie. Tight end Sean Ryan seemed like he’d stick as insurance for Craig Stevens, whose role is now quite important and who’s had concussion issues in the past. But the Titans parted ways with Ryan. Veteran cornerback Tye Hill was surprised he was let go, according to The Tennessean. Jeff Fisher says teams need at least four corners. If you count nickelback Vincent Fuller, a safety, in the equation the numbers are OK. But otherwise unproven Ryan Mouton is fourth.



No-brainers: Chris Simms often looked confused and flustered in preseason action, and it became clear that the Titans would stick with Kerry Collins as the veteran backup to Vince Young while looking to develop rookie Rusty Smith for down the road. Collins can run the scout team at practice and step in with no practice work if and when he’s needed, and Smith’s got a lot of good qualities, including a nice arm and swagger.



What’s next: The Titans will probably look for help at linebacker, where Gerald McRath’s four-game suspension is underway, and the primary alternative, Collin Allred, has not been durable lately. Could they pursue Oakland’s Thomas Howard in a trade? The depth right now beyond Stephen Tulloch, Will Witherspoon and Allred is Jamie Winborn, Stanford Keglar and long snapper Ken Amato. With receiver Paul Williams finally gone, Keglar can be the guy fans wonder about still being around.