ASHBURN, Va. (WAVY) – The Washington Commanders trimmed its roster from 80 to 53 players Tuesday afternoon by the 4 p.m. eastern NFL deadline. 25 Players were cut and three were placed on injured reserve.
It’s a day of realization across the NFL. Some players will be designated to the practice squad, others will be claimed off waivers by other teams and some will see their football careers come to an end.
“I think there are a couple of young guys that really stepped up. Christian Holmes is one of the guys that comes to mind right away when you get the late-round picks, a lot of the time you try and slide them by and get them on practice squad,” head coach Ron Rivera said after practice on Tuesday. “He had a really strong camp, he really did. He did a lot of good things and showed his worth very quickly. I think he is a guy that I’m not going to necessarily say surprised, but a guy that worked, to answer the question, he did work himself on to the roster. That was really good to see. I think when you look at the tight end position, we kept five for a reason. We like all five. We think there is a place for those guys. That is also a position that we are still working through the roster for clarification as far as guys statuses.”
Reserve defensive backs and special teams contributors Danny Johnson and Corn Elder were cut.
Rivera minced words when speaking about those two decisions. “As we go through this, we are not done,” he said.
Depth battles at tight end, running back and defensive back were especially intriguing throughout camp and the preseason.
“I think this was just based on the battles we had. The cornerback position was not easy. The running back position was not necessarily easy. The plethora of tight ends kind of created some of the situations that we had to deal with.” Rivera said.
The Commanders open the season September 11 at FedEx Field against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
