August, dull for the fans, terrifying for the players.
May 17, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Members of the Houston Texans participate in drills during rookie mini-camp at Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Just as an FYI for those of you interested, the NFL has released their roster cut-off dates. These are the dates the teams must reduce their roster from the current 90 in camp, slowly paring down to 53 and then of course the 8 man practice squad. Here are the dates and times:
August 26th by no later than 3:00pm central(all times will be central) clubs must get down to 75 man rosters. The first round of terror for the bubble players. Four days later come the final pink slips.
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August 30th NLT 3:00pm and it’s down to 53 man rosters. Just to make things more intense for the good but not quite good enough players no sleep is to be had. Why you ask?
August 31st NLT 11:00am is when the 8 man practice squad goes active. This is more to stash away potentials that need a little more training to get where they are NFL ready. Arian Foster started out on the practice squad if you’ll recall. Really the second preseason game is where the first batch of on the bubble players have to shine, after that it’s whatever trash time they can get in game three. Final slots are based on needs and play in game four of preseason. Something tells me that Bill O’Brien will personally send each guy off to unemployment. Scariest words a player will hear “Hey Coach wants to see you…” Pretty grueling really, mentally and physically. Unless you’re a high talent, or proven player, the month of August has got to be nerve wracking. The back office bean counters get till the 3rd of September to have the salaries nailed down and under the cap. And we think it’s just a kids game!
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