Teams have 48 hours left before they must cut down to 53 players, and there will be a handful of interesting moves. I checked in on the kickers and running backs yesterday. Today, wide receivers.
Here are the top guys that I think are on the bubble:
Jermaine Kearse: The Seahawks have a bunch of younger receivers who are better and cheaper, most notably Paul Richardson and Tyler Lockett. An ESPN report yesterday suggests Seattle is trying to trade him, and a report by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com suggests the Browns are interested. I don’t think the Browns need to give up anything for him; he’ll be there for the taking on Saturday. I expect Kearse will be a below-average No. 3 receiver somewhere.
Allen Hurns: Jacksonville foolishly gave Hurns to a four-year contract worth $40 million last summer. Now they’ve got to figure out how to get that deal off the books. They’ve got a lot of other wide receivers who make a lot more sense. Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee were a lot better last year. Dede Westbrook looks like he might be another DeSean Jackson. And the Jaguars like youngsters Keelan Cole and Shane Wynn. Remarkably, Hurns is slated to make more money than those five wide receivers combined. I haven’t seen any reports suggesting such a move is imminent, but I imagine they’ll release him. Should be a No. 3 on some other team.
Dontrelle Inman: He got on the field some for the Chargers last year, catching 58 passes, but they’re overloaded at the position now, with Keenan Allen and Travis Benjamin healthy and Mike Williams joining the fray in October. Reports suggest they’re trying to trade him. Unlikely that they’ll find a willing partner.
Philly Brown: He caught 79 passes over the past three years with Carolina before signing with Buffalo. He hasn’t made much headway in carving out a role on that roster. I think Brown’s NFL days are over.
Sammie Coates: Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, Eli Rogers and JuJu Smith-Schuster are locks for the roster. They like what Darrius Heyward-Bey does on special teams. They have a bunch of other youngsters, so it could be time for Coates to go. He’s a former third-round pick with good size and speed (in extremely limited playing time last year, he had 6 catches over 40 yards) but he’s always been plagued by suspect hands. I think it’s time for him to go.
Kamar Aiken: Earlier in the preseason, Chuck Pagano indicated the Colts would be going with Chester Rogers as their slot receiver. Rogers has since been hurt, but Aiken’s roster spot in jeopardy. He’s two years removed from catching 75 passes for the Ravens, but he could be left trying to hook on with another team.
Victor Cruz: The Bears lost Cameron Meredith to a season-ending knee injury, but I still don’t think Cruz will make the roster. He was a great player a few years back with the Giants, but I think he’s done – injuries and age have cost him too much speed. I’ve seen him drop a couple of balls in the exhibition games, and he’s been working only with the reserves. They’ve locked in on Kendall Wright as their slot guy. I expect the Bears will release Cruz, and I don’t think we’ll ever see him in an NFL uniform again.
—Ian Allan