NFL Roster Cuts: Latest News from Around the League

There are only a few weeks to go until the 2012 NFL season officially begins, which means every head coach in the league has some tough decisions to make before the preseason comes to a close.

Before all of the league rosters get down to the required 53-man limit on August 31, many of the on-the-bubble players will have ample opportunities to show what they can do. There are, after all, still many practices to be had and many preseason minutes to be played.

Having said that, some of the not-so-fortunate hopefuls are already out of chances to show what they're worth. Here's a look at the latest roster cuts from around the league. You can see a complete list of the latest transactions at NFL.com.

New England Patriots: Jonathan Fanene 

The Pats made several moves on Tuesday, according to NFL.com. The team cut kicker Chris Koepplin, tackle Kyle Hill and defensive end Jonathan Fanene, who's now getting all of the attention.

Fanene is one of the more surprising cuts of the offseason thus far. When he was signed in March, he was expected to bring experience to a New England defensive line that really needed it.

Having said that, according to The Boston Globe's Michael Whitmer, a knee injury during training camp hindered him all summer.

Head coach Bill Belichick told Whitmer, "It just didn't work out," and declined to add anything else.

Last season, the 30-year-old defensive end tallied 6.5 sacks, two pass deflections and 22 tackles with the Bengals.

Chicago Bears: DeMario Pressley 

There were very few who believed that Pressley had a realistic shot of making the Bears final roster, but Chicago made it official on Tuesday when it cut the defensive tackle, according to NFL.com.

The Northwest Herald's Tom Musick reports that the Bears waived Pressley before reaching an injury settlement with him. Pressley has appeared in eight games in his career with the Saints and the Panthers, registering a total of 20 tackles (18 solo).

Denver Broncos: Joshua Moore

The former fifth-round draft pick was waived on Tuesday, according to the Denver Post, in order to make room for safety Jim Leonhard. Denver didn't appear to need much time to make its decision.

Leonhard is coming off a knee injury and practiced just once with the Broncos, per the same report from the Post.

That signaled immediate bad news for Moore, who sustained an ankle injury in last week's exhibition game. In just two seasons with the Bears, he appeared in a total of three games.