The Commanders made a move that could signal a positive outcome for one undrafted rookie as roster cuts continue
One fan-favorite rookie may have a roster spot.
This is the hardest time of the offseason, with a lot of players’ dreams coming to an end with roster cuts happening around the league. The Washington Commanders have started the cutdown to the initial 53-man roster that needs to be at that mark by Tuesday afternoon, and it might have foreshadowed one player’s outcome.
Today was highlighted by All-Pro WR Terry McLaurin getting his contract extension, but the team made other moves in the WR room by releasing Braylon Sanders and Michael Gallup, meaning Ja’Corey Brooks still has a shot.
The Commanders made a decision, but more remain.
Cutting down to 53 will come with some tough business decisions, and today was just the beginning of the quick process. The release of Gallup and Sanders leaves 11 WRs on the roster now, and the biggest questions are how many WRs they will keep and who they will keep.
With the injury history that Noah Brown and Deebo Samuel have, keeping seven WRs might be the smart choice for the team, leaving four more WRs to be released, and possibly five. Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel, Noah Brown, Jaylin Lane, and Luke McCaffrey are the obvious roster locks, and that leaves Ja’Corey Brooks, K.J. Osborn, Chris Moore, Tay Martin, River Cracraft, and Jacoby Jones remaining as options.
If you look at the training camp and preseason game performances, not many players stood out, but the backup quarterback play didn’t help either. Moore had good moments during training camp, but he dropped a lot of big catches in the preseason. Brooks was the only one to have a standout preseason game after leading the team in receiving for the New England Patriots game.
Brooks finished with five catches for 59 yards and showed flashes of why he was such an intriguing prospect. Right now, I’d give him the edge over any of the others left to be released, but the team might go the veteran route with Osborn or Moore since they’re already depending on a lot of youth in the WR room. His familiarity with Dan Quinn was the one factor that might have saved Gallup a roster spot, but ultimately, it wasn’t enough.
We will know the team’s decision by Tuesday after the roster cut deadline at 4 pm ET, but things could be trending in the right direction for undrafted rookie Ja’Corey Brooks after the first wave of cuts.
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