Doctor world

We’ve done two cutbacks posts thus far this offseason, one detailing cuts before free agency opened and one between the beginning of the new league year and the draft. But after the draft, there were some pretty significant cuts, and so we decided to begin a new post to compare those. This is once again a relativity poll with 10 being the most significant cuts and 1 being cuts that are merely worth mentioning. We’ll continue updating this post, so check back.
10 - Cardinals (cut RB Edgerrin James, DE Travis LaBoy, and CB Rod Hood) - James was a high-dollar free-agent acquisition three seasons ago, and he had two good seasons before beginning to decline last season. With the emergence of Tim Hightower last year and the selection of Beanie Wells in the first round, James became extraneous. The question is whether he has enough left to still contribute somewhere or if he’s just having the end-of-career dropoff that all running backs seem to have. Regardless, he’s had a great career with more than 12,000 rushing yards. LaBoy was one of Arizona’s big-money signings last year (5 years, $22 million), but injuries limited his effectiveness, and he only had four sacks last year. His price tag was just too high. Hood started 14 games last year, but he wasn’t good enough, and the Cards replaced him with Bryant McFadden in free agency.
9 - none
8 - none
7 - none
6 - Steelers (cut ILB Larry Foote) - Foote has started every game for five years in a row, but ‘07 first-rounder Lawrence Timmons is ready to take that spot. Foote is a solid run-stuffer who has to come off the field in obvious passing situations. Those limitations made his $2.8 million salary-cap number too rich for the Steelers.
5 - Bengals (cut RBs Chris Perry and Gary Russell, S Mike Doss and Ps Kyle Larson and Ryan Plackemeier) - Perry was a former first-round pick who fought injuries so often that he never really lived up to his potential. He was talked about as a starter going into the ‘08 season after the Bengals released Rudi Johnson, but injuries derailed him again. Still, Perry is a good enough pass catcher to at least get a look as a third-down back elsewhere if he can stay healthy. Russell was a waiver claim from Pittsburgh just before the draft, but after the Bengals picked two backs, he became expendable. Doss was a former Colts prospect who disappointed for a second team. Larson and Plackemeier were cut after the Bengals drafted Kevin Huber, who looks to take over the punting job.
4 - Saints (cut DT Brian Young) - Young is a solid veteran who has been so battered by injuries that his effectiveness has been severely limited. Unfortunately, this could be the end of the line for him, but if he gets healthy he can fit into someone’s rotation as a backup.
3 - Dolphins (cut QB John Beck) - Beck was a second-round pick in ‘07, but once his advocate Cam Cameron was fired, he quickly fell out of favor with new decision-maker Bill Parcells. It took just one year for Chad Henne to pass Beck as the Dolphins’ signal-caller of the future. Beck still has talent, so he’ll get another shot (apparently next in Detroit as a backup).
2 - none
1 - Chargers (cut TE Scott Chandler and CB DeJuan Tribble) - San Diego gave up on Chandler, a fourth-rounder in ‘07, and Tribble, a sixth-rounder last year, after selecting this year’s draft picks.
1 (con’t) - Lions (cut QB Drew Henson) - Henson, a former top prospect both in baseball and football, was Detroit’s No. 3 quarterback last year, but he was released as the Lions put in a claim on John Beck (see above). Henson’s chances to make it in the NFL are just about gone.