NFL Cuts 2017: Analyzing Top Big-Name Releases Who Will Find New Teams

For the first time, the 2017 NFL offseason will culminate in one dramatic final roster cut day on which front offices will have to cull their rosters from 90 players to the final 53. 

NFL owners voted in May to eliminate the cut to 75 players that used to happen before the final preseason game and instead go from the full offseason roster to the final regular-season roster, eliminating 37 players at one time. 

The deadline to arrive at 53 players is Saturday, Sept. 2 at 4 p.m. ET, but some teams have already started letting players go ahead of the final preseason game, perhaps assuming that they'd rather give valuable snaps to players about whom they're still trying to make up their minds. 

Most of the players who have been released so far aren't known beyond their local markets. But we have seen a few big names become free agents, so where will these players be suiting up in 2017? 

Let's take a look at some of the biggest names who are going to be switching jerseys just ahead of the kickoff of the 2017 season.

CB Joe Haden

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

The biggest name to find himself on the cut list this week, Joe Haden was released by the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport first reported:

The veteran corner hasn't played a full 16-game season since his rookie debut in 2010. Haden was on the field for just five games after suffering a concussion in 2015 and 13 in 2016 with groin injuries. 

Unfortunately, as Haden's playing time has decreased, so has his production. He didn't have a single interception in '15 and posted only two passes defensed, after having 20 of the latter in each of his previous two seasons and three and four interceptions, respectively. 

Last season, Haden bounced back slightly, with three picks, but he still only managed 11 passes defensed, far below his average throughout his career. 

The Browns are clearly making a move to get younger all around, and Haden didn't fit into their analytics-heavy new-look offense. This doesn't seem to have been about money; though Haden was owed $11 million in 2017, only $4 million was guaranteed. 

And in the end, Haden won't receive much more than that for his services in 2017. The corner—whom the Browns tried to trade before his cutting—signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers Wednesday afternoon, per Rapoport:

If the Browns had their way, they would not have elected to trade Haden to a division rival, in the (small) chance that he returns to Pro Bowl form and starts shutting down AFC North receivers left and right.

But by cutting him, they relinquished control over that possibility and now will get the chance to see twice this year whether Haden can bounce back.  

RB Ryan Mathews

Stephen Brashear

Ryan Mathews isn't a casualty of the final roster cutdown. He was released by the Philadelphia Eagles in the middle of August, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported at the time:

Mathews had been with the Eagles since 2015 and saw an uptick in his production after moving on from the San Diego Chargers, the team that drafted him in 2010. 

The veteran rusher set a career high in touchdowns in 2016, with eight, even if he only netted 661 yards on the season, which is closer to the middle of his average production. 

But Mathews underwent neck disk surgery after suffering a season-ending neck injury in 2016, from which he has been recovering all offseason. The Eagles were holding onto him until he got healthy, because league rules prohibit cutting a player who is injured (you can, however, waive him with an injury settlement), as Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice explained back in March. 

The Eagles stood to save $4 million off their cap if they cut or traded Mathews. 

Will another team take a chance on a player with an injured neck? If he can pass a physical, absolutely. The two-time 1,000-yard rusher looked great last season before the injury, and rushers who are red-zone threats are something NFL teams can never have enough of. 

DL Cam Johnson

Another cut, another Brown. The Browns announced on Tuesday that they had released veteran defensive end Cam Johnson:

Johnson, who spent two years with the Indianapolis Colts ahead of signing with the Browns in 2015, played only 12 games in 2016, starting nine. He has been sidelined with a knee injury through the preseason. 

And yet 2016 was the best season of his career, one in which he posted three sacks, a pass defensed and two forced fumbles. 

Johnson excels as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme, which is how Cleveland used him last season. But the Browns are moving to a 4-3 scheme, and there just isn't room for Johnson in their future plans. 

If Johnson can pass a physical, he could be a nice pickup for a team looking for a veteran boost in its pass-rush corps. 

WR Marquess Wilson

Veteran wideout Marquess Wilson left the Chicago Bears this spring and signed with the New York Jets in June, but the Jets have decided that, regardless of how sparse their receiving corps might be, they aren't interested in Wilson's services. 

Wilson only played 31 games over four seasons with the Bears, who drafted him in 2013. Chicago parted ways with the injury-afflicted receiver before its remaining wideouts started to experience hits of their own, most recently with Cameron Meredith going down with a knee injury in the preseason. 

But could Chicago possibly bring Wilson back for another look?

Nothing is impossible in the NFL, and there are bound to be teams who are needy enough at wideout to consider adding free-agent Wilson.

In his best season with the Bears, 2015, Wilson was a deep threat, averaging 16.6 yards per reception and pulling in eight receptions of 20 or more yards and three of 40-plus. 

It's maybe not the biggest vote of confidence for Wilson that one of the projected worst offenses in the league still had no place for him, but let's not make assumptions. He may be a better fit elsewhere.