It’s not as flashy as it’s free agency brother, but “cutday” may be the most frantic for all NFL front offices.
There isn’t another time of the year where they have to be so reactive to every move every team is making, ready to pounce on possible talents who might improve their roster or be worth developing on their practice squad.
To help you keep up to date we’ve going to be providing details on all the moves in each divisional page. Keep coming back for each and every player released with stats, snaps and grades on all of them.
Of course this might not be enough for you, in which case you’ll need yourself a PFF Premium Membership.
AFC East | AFC North | AFC South | AFC West
NFC East | NFC North | NFC South | NFC West
Baltimore Ravens
Caleb Hanie, QB: Actually had a better grade in preseason than starter Joe Flacco, but we all know Joe doesn't turn up to when it really matters. Hanie has proven he's not a capable NFL starter and his performance in preseason (-1.7) shows he's not really worth a shot at the backup spot. Not when you have the more exciting Tyrod Taylor on the roster.
Dayne Crist, QB: Never saw the field and was merely a camp arm.
Anthony Allen, RB: When you're fighting for a roster spot fumbling is never a good option. Allen did and he never did enough with his carries (3.7 yards per carry on 19 attempts) to overcome it.
Delone Carter, RB: An empty trade if ever there was one. Nonetheless Carter got 23 snaps to prove himself with the Ravens and turned that into a -3.1 grade. That's not good, not good at all.
Bobby Rainey, RB: Probably the unluckiest of the backs to get the boot and the guy with the most upside. He turned in an impressive performance against the Rams and finished preseason with a +3.1 grade after forcing nine missed tackles and averaging a team best 3.9 yards per carry.
Tandon Doss, WR: A disappointment. Injury to Dennis Pitta and the trade away of Anquan Boldin left a gaping opportunity for him to increase his workload. Instead he was so unappealing to the Ravens they turned to veteran slot receiver Brandon Stokely and said goodbye to Doss. Will get another chance somewhere else, but was outperformed by guys like Aaron Mellette and Marlon Brown.
Billy Bajema, TE: The longtime veteran would have been hoping to catch back on with the Ravens after playing 150 snaps for them last year. Unfortunately his blocking was bad then (-5.1) and it wasn't much better in preseason (-2.0) in preseason. Still his time with Baltimore got him a Super Bowl ring.
Matt Furstenburg, TE: The team may have been short on depth at tight end (with only four tight ends seeing the field during preseason( but Furstenburg and his -2.6 grade on 115 snaps wasn't the answer.
Alex Silvestro, TE: Couldn't get on the field during preseason on offense and was therefore never likely to make the roster.
Jordan Devey, OL: The guard didn't let himself down during the preseason (+0.7) but didn't stand out on his 80 snaps.
Rogers Gaines, OL: Gave up just one sack from the left tackle spot, but was only on the field for 66 snaps and had a lot to do to make the team. Didn't help that his run blocking was off the mark against the Rams.
Reggie Stephens, OL: An afterthought in the battle for the center spot, he duly proceeded to have the worst grade of all three (-4.8) in his 86 snaps. The former seventh rounder from 2010 may be done.
J.J. Unga, OL: Saw a lot of action (143 team leading snaps) in preseason but gave up too much pressure (a hit and five hurries) to prevent the team sending him on his way. For now.
Antoine McClain, OL: If it wasn't for Kelechi Osemele having such a poor preseason he would own the lowest grade of Ravens guards for the period (-3.0). Got beat for two hits and three hurries and earned a negative grade for his run blocking. Was always on the cards.
Cody Larson, DL:
Nigel Carr, LB:
Brandon Copeland, LB:
D.J. Bryant, LB:
Marc Anthony, DB:
Omar Brown, DB:
Cincinnati Bengals
John Skelton, QB: Lost the battle with Josh Johnson to back up Andy Dalton and it's hardly surprising. Wasn't terrible in preseason (+1.5) but only had 26 passes called for him compared to 63 for his peer. What's more never did enough to overcome the tape he put on show from his first three seasons in the league (-53.5).
Dan Herron, RB: The team will ride with Cedric Peerman and Rex Burkhead as the depth, with Herron not doing enough on his 31 rushes (no missed tackles and a team low 1.8 yards after contact per carry). May catch on somewhere else with the 2012 sixth rounder making some plays on special teams towards the end of last year.
John Conner, FB: Finished preseason our second ranked lead blocker but Hard Knocks showed us how the team was invested in Orson Charles winning the job. He did well enough that they could live with him being the number one guy. Their loss will be to benefit of whoever picks up Conner (+3.7).
Bryce Davis, TE: A longshot to make a roster, Davis didn't harm his chances of landing on a practice squad with his +1.3 grade on 72 snaps. Caught both balls thrown his way for 40 yards.
Cobi Hamilton, WR: Brandon Tate wasn't losing his spot with a special teams prowess while Dane Sanzenbacher made some big plays. It left Hamilton getting plenty of playing time (94 snaps) but needing to do a lot to make the roster. He didn't, catching seen balls for just 68 yards.
Roy Roundtree, WR: Caught just one of three targets as he was an afterthought on his 45 offensive snaps.
Taveon Rogers, WR: Played just 39 snaps and while he did grab a 30 yarder, it wasn't enough to beat out a more established group of players consisting largely of NFL veterans.
John Sullen, OL: Our highest graded Bengals guard in preseason, although with a +1.2 grade that isn't saying much. Played 105 snaps and just didn't offer much power in his punch in the run game.
Reid Fragel, OL: Faced an uphill battle to make the team and saw just 60 snaps to make a case. Ultimately he did himself proud (+1.0) and yet at the same time didn't do enough to crack the final 53.
Dennis Roland, OL: Former starter and often used sixth linemen, the team just couldn't use a roster spot on a guy as limited as Roland. He played reasonably well in preseason (+1.2) but his limitations against starters in pass protection always put him on the roster bubble. The undrafted free agent from 2006 was a starter in 2010 but could only turn that into a -6.1 grade and had to be subbed off the field in obvious passing situations.
T.J. Johnson, OL: His -3.2 grade was the lowest of all Bengals guards and it was no surprise when his run blocking got him canned. Would probably have preferred more playing time at center.
Dontay Moch, DL:
Terrence Stephens, DL:
J.K. Schaffer, LB:
Chris Lewis-Harris, DB:
Shaun Prater, DB:
Onterrio McCalebb, DB:
Tony Dye, DB:
Cleveland Browns
Miquel Maysonet, RB: Didn't impress with his 39 snaps, averaging 2.3 yards per carry, getting flagged for a penalty and earning a -1.6 grade that was the lowest of all the backs.
Jemaine Cook, RB: Led the team with 70 offensive snaps (at the running back spot) but could only turn his 15 carries into 2.6 yards per attempt. Was always going to struggle with players like Chris Ogbonnaya and Brandon Jackson offering more versatility that aided their causes to backup Trent Richardson.
David Nelson, WR: Just couldn't get healthy quickly enough which limited his ability to make anything of an instant impact. Manned the slot role in Buffalo and the trade for Davone Bess always made him somewhat an after thought. When he's healthy he can contribute so he's one to watch. Just saw 33 preseason snaps, where he was targeted 10 times.
Mike Edwards, WR: Didn't do enough in a crowded group of receivers. 12 Browns receivers took snaps and thus Edwards found it hard to get more balls thrown his way. Ended up seeing nine of them with four catches and one drop on his 42 snaps.
Naaman Roosevelt, WR: The former Bill was only on the field for 26 snaps in preseason and didn't catch any balls. After 301 snaps in 2011 that may be it for Roosevelt as far as the NFL goes.
Tori Gurley, WR: Caught 4-of-5 balls aimed towards him for a healthy 60 yards but the 2011 undrafted free agent just couldn't overcome a group of young (and largely drafted) receivers.
Dan Gronkowski, TE: Didn't have a bad preseason (+0.5) but the team are clearly looking for more athletic options than what Gronkowski presents. Dropping one of his two targets wouldn't have helped his cause.
Aaron Adams, OL: Might look at others and think “why me”, but when you earn a -2.5 grade as an undrafted free agent you can't really expect to make the final 53.
Braxton Cave, OL: The center from Notre Dame might have felt his solid play (+1.8) would have been enough to seal a roster spot as a backup. It wasn't with the more experienced Jarrod Shaw getting more playing time. Still he's a prime candidate for the practice squad.
Brian Sanford, DL:
Hall Davis, DL:
Justin Cole, LB:
James Michael-Johnson, LB:
Justin Staples, LB:
Abdul Kanneh, DB:
Kent Richardson, DB:
Akeem Auguste, DB:
Jamoris Slaughter, DB:
Brandon Bogotay, K:
Shayne Graham, K:
Colton Schmidt, P:
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jonathan Dwyer, RB: Two fumbles sealed the fate of Dwyer who may have averaged 4 yards per carry and led the team with 136 yards, but just couldn't be trusted going forward. A one dimensional runner he's a guy teams will turn to when they're short on depth but he's missed a golden opportunity with a running back depleted Steelers. Had the lowest grade of all their backs with a -4.5 score.
Alvester Alexander, RB: Got some work in preseason (70 snaps) but rarely threatened running the ball (2.9 yards per carry). Did impress with his pass blocking however and that may appeal to teams looking to develop him.
Justin Brown, WR: Played 118 snaps catching 6-of-13 balls for a pedestrian 44 yards. Didn't display anything that would prevent this coming.
Reggie Dunn, WR: Saw just 23 snaps and with such limited action was never going to challenge for one of the final 53.
Kashif Moore, WR: Much like Dunn only saw 27 snaps and though he caught both balls thrown his way, was going to need more playing time to make a case to make the roster.
Nathan Overbay, TE: None of the Steelers tight ends did a job of convincing you they could make an impact with Overbay earning a -1.3 grade on just 32 snaps. Was never likely to make the roster.
Jamie McCoy, TE: Got on the field for 60 snaps but let himself down by dropping as many balls as he caught (two). That played a large part in his -2.0 grade.
Joe Long, OL: Struggled in pass protection, allowing two sacks, one hit and four hurries. That was worth a -3.2 pass protection grade and not worth a spot on the roster.
Mike Golic, OL: Got just 13 snaps in the final game which was never going to be enough to see the Notre Dame guard make the roster.
Joe Madsen, OL: Played well enough in his 66 snaps to earn a +1.8 grade, but that wasn't enough to crack the final 53. Held his own in pass protection and that may help him land on a practice squad.
Chirs Hubbard, OL: The lowest rated Steelers guard in preseason (-2.3), you don't find many guards who give up 10 quarterback disruptions in preseason. Only one other guard matched that total and it's a big part of why he was let go.
Brian Arnfelt, DL:
Alameda Ta'amu, DL:
Marshall McFadden, LB:
Terence Garvin, LB:
Alan Baxter, LB:
Brian Rolle, LB:
Devin Smith, DB:
Terry Hawthorne, DB:
Josh Victorian, DB:
Ross Ventrone, DB:
Brian Moorman, P:
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