And then there were 53. On Tuesday, every NFL team had to reduce its offseason 90-man roster to an opening group of 53 players. Even if some players perform well over the summer, earning spots on multiple rosters can sometimes make those efforts pointless. That being said, just because a player didn't make one of the 32 opening rosters doesn't mean there isn't a spot for him somewhere in the NFL.
While Tuesday's deadline highlights players who are being waived or released from the team, it's also an opportunity to continue roster building as we get closer to Week 1. With that in mind, we've collected several notable players who are now looking for a new team and identified a potential landing spot.
After spending the first two years of his career with the Falcons, Ridder was traded to the Arizona Cardinals this offseason in a rare player-for-player swap along with wideout Rondale Moore. Ridder vied for the QB2 position behind Kyler Murray with Clayton Tune and enjoyed little success. The 24-year-old started 13 games for Atlanta last season and went 6-7.
Potential Landing Spot: Los Angeles RamsThis may not be a permanent home for Ridder, but it is an interesting pitstop. Of course, the Rams have Matthew Stafford as their starter and signed Jimmy Garoppolo to be a backup this offseason. However, Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games of the season, leaving the backup job to Stetson Bennett. Could Ridder remain as the emergency quarterback under former offensive coordinator Dave Ragone? Perhaps he could remain as a practice squad option and develop in the highly sought-after shadow of Sean McVay.
Zappe was the Patriots' fourth-round pick in 2022 and has produced several outstanding performances in his two-season tenure. He started a total of eight games for the organization, including the final six games of the 2023 campaign. He went 4-4 in those starts and struggled until the Patriots shutout last year. Still, he is an ideal backup quarterback who can be relied on to be a spot star in a pinch.
Potential Landing Spot: Los Angeles Chargers. There's a world where Zappe ends up back with the Patriots via the practice squad, but if we look outside of Foxborough the Chargers could make some sense. Right now, Easton Stick is slated as the backup behind Justin Herbert and one could argue that Zappe would be an upgrade at that spot. In his four starts last season, Stick went 0-4 and had a passer rating of 85.6.
When the Kansas City Chiefs traded for Toney in October 2022, it seemed for a moment that the former first-round wideout was going to be a deadly duo with Patrick Mahomes. Although Toney played some key roles during his Chiefs tenure — and has two Super Bowl rings to show for it — he never reached the heights most people were expecting. This summer, he fell behind in a revamped Chiefs receiver room and is now searching for a new team in hopes of capitalizing on his raw potential.
Probable Landing Site: Washington CommandersThe Commanders recently got rid of former first-round pick Jahan Dotson in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, and there are plenty of question marks behind Terry McLaurin at the receiver position. Toney's talents could be attractive to this new Washington coaching staff, including offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
Brown has been a productive receiver between the Cowboys and Texans over the past few seasons. He has posted back-to-back campaigns of at least 550 yards receiving and has two stellar performances in 2023. In Week 9, he caught all six of his targets for 153 yards and a touchdown and then followed it up with a seven-catch, 172-yard performance the following week. Given that explosive ability, he should be a valuable target for teams looking for depth at the receiver position.
Potential Landing Spot: Los Angeles Chargers. It looks like LA will rely on Joshua Palmer, Quentin Johnston and rookie Ladd McConkey after moving on from Keenan Allen and Mike Williams this offseason. While Palmer is underrated and McConkey and Johnston both have potential, it wouldn't hurt to give Justin Herbert another outlet like Brown, who could factor in target share.
Perine remains a reliable pass-catching option out of the backfield even at age 29. While the Broncos are moving in a different direction with Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin, Perine could be a sensible addition to any team looking to strengthen its backfield. Last season, he caught 50 of his 56 targets for 455 yards.
Potential landing spot: Green Bay Packers. With the news that running back AJ Dillon is gone for the year, this makes a lot of sense for Green Bay. Perine could be a perfect addition to a weak backfield behind Josh Jacobs to work in passing down situations.
Farley was the Tennessee Titans' No. 22 overall pick in 2021 out of Virginia Tech. He failed to live up to that draft billing, in part, due to a series of injuries he suffered during his tenure in Nashville. Farley has suffered two ACL tears since college and is also out of the 2023 season due to a back injury. Given that the Titans have a brand new regime with no ties to him and added Al'Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie in the offseason, his release was no surprise.
Possible landing location, Cleveland Browns. Finding a team that is willing to acquire Farley is going to be difficult given all of his past injuries. However, the Browns could be interesting simply because of Farley's connection to Mike Vrabel, who currently works as a coaching and personnel consultant in the organization. Vrabel was the head coach when Tennessee selected Farley, so that familiarity could be a way for him to make it onto an NFL roster (53 man or practice squad). For the Browns, this is a low-risk, low-cost move to potentially add a talented defensive back to your secondary.
The Minnesota Vikings selected Cine out of Georgia at No. 32 in the 2022 NFL Draft. His rookie season was cut short by a compound fracture in his left foot and he was limited to seven games a season ago. Cine totaled one tackle.
Possible landing location, new york giantsThe club lost Xavier McKinney at the start of free agency and questions at the safety position continued to linger throughout the regular season. While Cine shouldn't be viewed as a savior at the position, the Giants are the type of rebuilding team that should try to catch lightning in a bottle with Cine's untapped potential. As long as he stays healthy, of course.
Marshall spent the last three seasons with the Carolina Panthers after the club selected the LSU product in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The former national champion has shown stellar performances at times during his tenure in the league, but things haven't gone smoothly yet. His best season in the NFL came in 2022 when he caught 28 passes for 490 yards and a touchdown. He appeared in nine games for the club in 2023
Possible landing location, Buffalo BillsAfter the departures of both Stefon Diggs (via trade) and Gabe Davis (free agency) this offseason, Buffalo now has a total of 241 targets. While rookie Keon Coleman will take some of those targets along with fellow wideouts Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel and tight end Dalton Kinkaid, there are questions in the receiver room. Marshall could be a worthy bet to see if he can build some chemistry with Josh Allen. The organization took a close look at Marshall in the preseason finale, where he caught three balls for 39 yards and a touchdown.
Spiller was selected as the Chargers' fourth-round draft pick in 2022 out of Texas A&M. While there was some hype about the former All-SEC back over the past few seasons, it never materialized. He played in just 15 games for the Chargers and rushed 55 times for 137 yards. He also caught all nine of his targets for 47 yards.
Potential Landing Spot: Las Vegas RaidersIt's easy for Spiller to move to Las Vegas, where Tom Telesco currently serves as general manager. He held the same role with the Chargers and drafted Spiller, so it's possible he still has affection for the player and is interested in seeing if he can utilize his potential with the Raiders. The club also isn't exactly tight on the position, as Zamir White and Alexander Mattison are at the top of the depth chart.
Patrick has had a tough time the past two years, as he suffered season-ending injuries the past two summers. In 2022, his campaign was cut short by a torn ACL, and a torn Achilles ruled him out for 2023. However, Patrick is healthy and has shown he can perform well in an NFL offense when he is. In each of his past two seasons (2020 and 2021) when he was on the field, Patrick caught at least 50 balls for over 700 yards and five touchdowns.
Potential Landing Spot: Pittsburgh SteelersGeorge Pickens is running the show in the receiver room, but there are questions on the depth chart after him. In addition to Pickens, the team has Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III leading the receiver room.