NFL Roster Cuts: Biggest Mistakes That Teams Will Regret

The final deadline for narrowing down NFL rosters to 53 has elapsed, and in the process, there have been some cuts that not many of us saw coming.

For some teams, the surprising roster moves were necessary—there was too much talent and not enough roster spots. For others, though, some of this week's cuts will come back to haunt them once we're a few weeks into the 2012 season.

Here's a look at some of the final cuts this week and some of the teams that will be regretting their decisions before long.

Kellen Winslow (Seattle)

The tight end didn't have much of an opportunity to prove himself to the Seahawks in the few months he spent with them. He had zero catches on one target in the Seahawks' final preseason game, but in the third preseason game, he had two receptions for 23 yards and a touchdown.

Winslow is only 29, he's compiled 730 yards or more in the air in each of the last three seasons and he's averaged over 10 yards per reception in each of those years.

Seattle, which has gone 4-0 in the preseason, acquired Winslow from Tampa Bay during the offseason, and a team that finished 26th in the league in passing offense in 2011 could've used all the veteran help it could get. Some other team will doubtlessly benefit from the Seahawks' mistake.

Deion Branch (New England)

It's a given that the Patriots' wide receiving corps was one of their primary areas of concern in the offseason. The wideouts got exposed by the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, and Bill Belichick and his staff needed to make some serious improvements before the 2012 season began if they had any hope of doing better this time around.

In part, the Pats accomplished that task by signing Brandon Lloyd. But one new receiver does not fix all of the Patriots' problems—nor does cutting nearly every veteran wide receiver that was on their roster a month ago.

New England has also parted ways with Chad Johnson, Jabar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth. Deion Branch, in two stints with the Patriots, has been a receiver that has developed into one of Tom Brady's favorite targets, and even though his production has been limited by injuries over the last couple of seasons, he's still a veteran presence who knows the Patriots, knows Brady and has managed to accumulate 700-plus yards over the last two years.

The Patriots did need to get younger at wide receiver, but they didn't need to cut every single veteran they had.

Alphonso Smith (Detroit)

No, Smith hasn't been impressive with the Lions during the course of the preseason—or throughout much of his short career with the Lions. But it's only been three years, and some defensive backs don't come out of the gates as superstars.

Look at Asante Samuel's career. In his first three seasons with the Patriots, he registered a total of six picks—right before he exploded in his fourth year to finish with 10 interceptions.

Smith is about to enter his fourth year in the league, and he already has eight picks. He could still develop into a defensive weapon, and the Lions—who, by the way, don't have a plethora of talent in the secondary—aren't giving him a chance.