Biggest Names on 2025 NFL Roster Bubble Who Could Be Cut

Pssst. Do you want to hear a little secret about the NFL? The majority of each team's roster is already decided before training camp begins thanks to the organization's investments in draft, free agency or financially. In reality, only a handful of openings are truly available once camp opens and preseason ensues.

So, dozens of players are vying for only a few available openings. The key to this conversation is who will push a potential proven or higher-profile veteran off the roster who may not longer be protected.

It's still early in the process, with the full slate of the preseason's Week 1 contests set to take place this upcoming weekend. But there are specific names who should be looking over their shoulder based on their current circumstances.

To be clear, names such as Kirk Cousins and Tyreek Hill may have been included here, but their retention makes more financial sense for their current teams unless some type of trade proposal comes to light.

Otherwise, the handful of veterans included have been starters and/or high draft picks during their career. Now, they face a strong possibility that they may not be on a roster at the start of the 2025 regular season.

QB Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns

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The picture may be clearer in Cleveland if Kenny Pickett hadn't suffered a hamstring injury that kept him from participating in a few days of training camp sessions. Even so, the 2022 first-round draft pick may still hold a slight edge over the 40-year-old Joe Flacco.

"I'm sure [Pickett is] not the most popular choice among the fan base," ESPN's Dan Graziano wrote, "but as one league executive pointed out to me, he's the one of these four the Browns tried the hardest to get."

To Graziano's point, the Browns sent a fifth-round draft pick and former backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson—a former fifth-round pick in his own right—to the Philadelphia Eagles for Pickett.

A slight injury in training camp isn't going to change how the Browns feel about the quarterback internally.

"I like how Kenny's wired," head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters during minicamp. "He's a really tough kid. When we traded for him, Coach [Pat] Narduzzi called me right away and was thrilled because he just believes in who the young man is and how he goes about his business. He's a gym rat. He's another guy that works extremely hard at his craft. But we're excited about his skill set. I'm excited about the things that he's been exposed to in his young career already. 

Of course, a certain section of Browns fans will be rooting for Flacco to rekindle the magic of the 2023 campaign, when the long-time starter signed in the middle of the season, went on a tear, helped lead Cleveland back to the postseason and won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. At the same time, no one should forget how poorly Flacco played for the Indianapolis Colts last season and the fact he's now two years older.

Where's the upside with Flacco? Cleveland wants to compete this fall, while also looking for growth potential at the game's most important position. Pickett, alongside rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, at least provide some long-term hope.

RB Devin Singletary, New York Giants

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Devin Singletary has led his team in rushing yardage on five different occasions, yet he finds himself in a crowded backfield where he doesn't bring any special trait to the table.

Singletary signed with the New York Giants last offseason in an attempt to offset Saquon Barkley's loss. Instead, Barkley ran wild with the Philadelphia Eagles, while Singletary posted the lowest rushing total of his career and eventually ceded his RB1 status to rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr.

With Tracy entering his second season as Big Blue's lead back, Singletary's value drops dramatically, especially if fourth-round rookie Cam Skattebo proves his more than capable of handling his responsibilities in the backfield.

Skattebo is currently dealing with a tweaked hamstring. However, Skattebo generated plenty of positive buzz at the start of training camp.

"Skattebo entered camp as a long shot to make the final 53, but his playmaking has already shifted that conversation," Alexander Wilson of Empire Sports Media wrote. "He's stacking good days, drawing praise from veterans and clearly not intimidated by the speed of the NFL game"

"With the Giants needing offensive spark wherever they can get it, Skattebo might be the perfect change-of-pace back to develop behind Tyrone Tracy."

The rookie's physicality and versatility definitely have their place in this lineup. The same can't be said with confidence regarding Singletary. The soon-to-be 28-year-old back is reliable and experience. The Giants can certainly keep him on the roster, particularly if injuries continue to pile up. At the same time, the organization may decide to go in a different direction because the roster features a pair of talented younger ball-carriers.

TE Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams

AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea

The Los Angeles Rams wanted a weapon at tight end. Enter this year's second-round draft pick Terrance Ferguson.

Tyler Higbee has been a solid contributor throughout his nine seasons. However, he doesn't create mismatches in the passing game. Furthermore, he's coming off a season where he played in only three games due knee and chest injuries.

The near 6'6", 247-pound Ferguson has the length and athleticism to be an immediate threat down the seam and in the red zone, particularly with Matthew Stafford throwing ropes to the tight end. The Rams aren't going to hand him anything, though.

"I'm excited about Terrance Ferguson," head coach Sean McVay told reporters during the Rams' minicamp. "I like his demeanor, I like his ability to learn from (tight ends coach) Scott Huff, Tyler Higbee. He's a guy we expect to contribute and to be able to do some good things, but that's going to be earned."

McVay knows he can lean on Higbee as the veteran presence in the Rams' tight end room. At the same time, keep the following in mind. Higbee is 32 years old. The Rams can save $4.7 million towards the 2025 cap with this release. Los Angeles have already made significant draft and financial investments in the duo of Ferguson and Colby Parkinson. Davis Allen is also a recent draft pick.

Higbee might be a security blanket for the coaching staff, but the Rams have significant talent at the tight end position to proceed without him on the roster.

TE Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints

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The experiment is nearing its end. After years of trying to figure out exactly what Taysom Hill would be as part of the New Orleans Saints offense, he's reached the point where his value financially no longer intersects with his projected contributions to the team.

Hill, who continues to recuperate from a torn ACL he suffered in December, hasn't participated in any of the team's offseason program and may not be ready for the start of the regular season.

For the Saints, the idea of keeping the soon-to-be 35-year-old veteran with his price tag doesn't see feasible regarding a team that's clearly starting a rebuild. New Orleans can cut Hill and save $10 million toward the 2025 salary cap, which can be rolled toward the following season since the Saints are once again in the red for initial projections.

Besides, the organization has plenty of talent at multiple spots to offset Hill's loss. Granted, tight end is particularly thin at the moment, hence the Saints' recent flirtation with Noah Fant before he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. Also, Foster Moreau has yet to be cleared as well. But Juwan Johnson and Moreau are more than enough at tight end, while a young player can make the roster and contribute on special teams.

Maybe Hill can rejoin Sean Payton as part of the Denver Broncos if/when the Saints decide to go in another direction.

OL Cole Strange, New England Patriots

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Toward the end of Bill Belichick's run with the New England Patriots, the future Hall of Fame head coach (as early as next year) was given far too much leeway when it came to his roster-building decisions.

Case in point, the Patriots chose FCS offensive lineman Cole Strange with a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft. At the time, the pick was excused as Belichick seeing something in Strange that no one else did at the time. The Bleacher Report Scouting Department graded Strange as the 98th overall prospect entering that year's event.

The 29th overall pick started every game as a rookie. Maybe Belichick did know better. Or not. Three years later, Strange is on the roster bubble after a third-round rookie seemingly took his spot in the lineup.

Jared Wilson, who was a collegiate center, has regularly gotten reps at left guard with the Patriots' first-team offense in training camp.

"Jared is really, really (expletive) good. I love asking him questions. He always has a different perspective," second-year offensive lineman Caedan Wallace told reporters. "For a rookie, he's just really good. The way he moves. The way he protects in the pass game and the way he gets off the ball in the run game. It's admirable."

With Wilson and Michael Onwenu at guard, as well as Layden Robinson and Sidy Sow to serve as backups, Strange isn't needed. The team has asked him to take some reps at center, but Wilson can shift back over the ball if an injury occurs. It's nearing the point where Strange can be viewed as a first-round bust since he's yet to even make it through his rookie contract.

OL Evan Neal, New York Giants

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While Cole Strange can be viewed as a first-round reach in retrospect, the New York Giants' Evan Neal looks like a full-blown whiff after being the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

Neal has struggled through his first three seasons. The Giants are still trying to figure out if they can save his career. A move inside to guard has had early positive returns.

"I think Evan steadily improved playing inside," head coach Brian Daboll told reporters last week. "Things happen a little quicker in there. He's a big man so he’s done a nice job on his double teams and getting movement and it was good to see him out there in one-on-ones at the guard spot. (We) look for him to continue to improve.

"He's been a true pro about it, spends extra time with the line coaches, does extra work, so he’s really put a lot of time and effort and energy into it and it’ll be good to see how it looks in the preseason when we can finish blocks and do those types of – the next step."

Once upon a time, NFL teams wouldn't have even thought of playing a 6'7" blocker anywhere but at offensive tackle. With the success that Mekhi Becton and Daniel Faalele experienced last season when making the same transition, it provides another a pathway for an individual's career.

Neal has yet to prove he can start at guard. But there are signs it's possible.

"E-Neal, he's moving stuff," running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. said. "I was about to say the wrong word, but he's moving stuff back there, man."

Depending on how the transition goes, Neal will find a new home—either at guard or with another team.

Edge Josh Paschal, Detroit Lions

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The defensive side of this ledger is rather light, but that's built upon where rosters currently stand. Josh Paschal certainly isn't the most high-profile defender, either. However, he was a key contributor and starter for the Detroit Lions last season.

When Aidan Hutchinson suffered a broken leg, Paschal stepped into the Lions' lineup and started 11 straight games.

Paschal is a former second-round pick by the team. In his first two seasons, he started only a handful of games. More should be expected of him.

Yet the defensive lineman isn't expected to be back onto the field and in the lineup until "early September," according to head coach Dan Campbell. Pachall is currently on Detroit's non-football injury list.

Multiple paths can be taken from this point forward. With Paschal expected back around the start of the regular season, the Lions can keep him on the roster. Or, the organization can cut him outright because it's comfortable with Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Al-Quadin Muhammad and rookie Ahmed Hassanein as their edge-defenders. A third option does exist where the Lions cut him at the final preseason deadline in order so they don't have to carry him on the active roster, thus costing someone else a spot and possibly re-sign him down the road when he's cleared by medical personnel.

Paschal has dealt with injuries throughout his career. At this juncture, the direction in which the Lions ultimately take remains up in the air, with a potential key contributor on the bubble for one of the NFC's best squads.