5 things you need to know for Saturday

Good morning football fans! Here are the five things you need to know coming out of yesterday to get your weekend started right:

1. Jay Cutler, the former No. 11 overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft, has called it a career, and taken up a job in the broadcast booth at FOX, covering games this fall. With PFF first grading in 2006, we have graded every snap of Cutler’s NFL career and seen some phenomenal highs, as well as a frustrating tendency to never consistently reach them. In 2008, in his third season and still with the Broncos, Cutler ranked sixth among QBs in the league at PFF, the highest rank he would reach over his career.
2. The Rams reportedly want WR Tavon Austin to become more of a deep threat, not unlike DeSean Jackson. Unfortunately for the Rams, nothing in Austin’s career to date suggests he has that ability in him, and he has caught just four of 20 “go” route targets over his NFL career. Last season he had one of the league’s lowest average depths of target, and so the role would be a complete reversal over how previous usage.
3. Each year, several undrafted rookies not only make rosters, but ultimately contribute to NFL teams in significant ways over the course of the season. Here are 10 undrafted rookies likely to make the final roster, including the productive edge rusher from Washington, Joe Mathis, who could stick in Houston despite their overwhelming collection of pass-rushers already on defense.
4. WR Michael Floyd is reportedly talking to the Minnesota Vikings, among other teams, and hopes to have a deal in place by next week. Floyd ran his career off the rails last season with a DUI that got him released by the Arizona Cardinals, and 2016 represented career lows in almost all major receiving categories. In a quirk of numbers though, Floyd has exactly five dropped passes in each season of his career, regardless of the number of passes thrown his way.
5. For fantasy players, Pat Thorman looked at targets and carries from 2016 that were not brought back to their teams, through free agency, trades, or retirements. Finding the available touches is the first step to finding players who might develop into big performers. The Patriots let the most carries go from 2016, while the Rams lead the way in lost targets.