For the first time, NFL coaches had 90 players at their disposal for the final preseason games, thanks to the league eliminating one of the roster cut-down dates. Starters and prominent backups didn’t have to risk injury one more time before the real games.
The downside to that started to hit Friday morning. There are a lot more pink slips for coaches to hand out quickly, as teams must get down to 53 players by Saturday afternoon.
“It’s a hard day,” Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. “It’s really the hardest thing that we do is to have to tell young men that are really dedicated and giving us everything that they have and really have a great desire to be here and then tell them that that dream is over.