The NFL's preseason schedule has officially wrapped up. Now, with less than two weeks until the regular season begins, all 32 teams have some critical decision-making to do.
The league's deadline for cutting down rosters to 53 players looms on Tuesday evening. While the overwhelming majority of spots have already been claimed, teams still have time to weigh those last spots.
With starters and key backups largely resting or seeing only a small bit of work in the final tune-up, the last week of the preseason often served as an audition for young players. The stakes might not have seemed sizable, but a few winners and closers nevertheless emerged this past week:
Maybe it's just a fun August story. Or maybe Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has unearthed another valuable piece capable of further enhancing a Patrick Mahomes-led attack.
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Steele, an undrafted free agent running back, punctuated a strong training camp and preseason by running for 50 yards and a touchdown on four carries against the Chicago Bears on Thursday. And though his 31-yard scamper fell just short of the end zone – Steele punched the ball in for a score one snap later – the play provided to be one of the most entertaining moments of the exhibition slate.
While Andy Reid indicated the Chiefs were still evaluating Steele, the back's performance this month should make him a strong candidate to stick on the roster. The 6-0, 228-pounder – who scored 14 rushing touchdowns in 2022 at Ball State before transferring to UCLA – sizes up as a formidable short-yardage and goal-line option who also could work into some packages as a fullback.
While most undrafted free agents go all out in the final preseason contest in their last bid to impress, Speights didn't even have to suit up for the Los Angeles Rams' game against the Houston Texans on Saturday. The LSU linebacker is safe from cuts and will be on the Week 1 gameday roster, general manager Les Snead said. The 6-1, 228-pounder was a summer standout, particularly with his work against the run.
It might be too early to say Speights could follow in the footsteps of Ivan Pace, a fellow undrafted free agent inside linebacker who started 11 games for the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie last season. Speights, however, is on the fast track to becoming a contributor and will have the chance to make his mark on special teams. And if the Rams end up dealing Ernest Jones – though the linebacker said Sunday he never requested a trade after reports emerged noting the team told him they were open to moving him – then Speights could be in line for substantial work on defense out of the gates.
Special teams are often the primary – or lone – path to the NFL for any player who doesn't arrive in the league with an extensive résumé. Though once a long shot for the league, McAllister has built a solid case to stick around with the Las Vegas Raiders thanks to his work in that phase of the game.
After playing running back for Division II Charleston and leading the Canadian Football League in kickoff returns in 2023, the 5-11, 180-pound receiver dashed for a 81-yard punt return touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers. McAllister later made a nice adjustment to haul in an underthrown pass before taking it into the end zone for a 32-yard score. Raiders coach Antonio Pierce confirmed afterward that the performance had left a strong impression. Regardless of whether the outing results in a roster spot in Las Vegas, consider McAllister fully on the NFL's radar now.
A hamstring injury kept the fourth-round running back out for the majority of the 49ers' training camp. But the buzz was back for the Louisville product after Guerendo reeled off a 93-yard kickoff return against the Raiders, the longest of the preseason.
The performance likely cemented Guerendo's standing as the leading candidate to return kicks throughout the season for San Francisco. At 6-0 and 221 pounds with 4.33-second speed in the 40-yard dash, Guerendo could be a major threat in the league's new dynamic kickoff format thanks to his superlative strength and straight-line speed.
Enough with the rookies for a moment. It's time to give some shine to a 32-year-old on the comeback trail.
After his days as a standout starter at safety were derailed by injury, Jefferson retired in 2023 and joined the Baltimore Ravens, one of his former teams, as a scouting intern. Now, however, he's trying to make his way back to the field with the Harbaugh-to-Harbaugh leap as he joins Jim in the coach's first season with the Los Angeles Chargers. Jefferson made an impressive final statement in his last preseason work, recording two interceptions, a sack and a forced fumble against the Dallas Cowboys. Latching onto the initial 53-man roster might still prove difficult, but the veteran showed there's reason to believe he can still hang and be a contributor at some point during the regular season.
In a quarterback competition that has seemingly lacked much juice or movement throughout the summer, Wilson appears to be nearing the finish line after coach Mike Tomlin said he was in the "pole position" for the job. While Tomlin was not yet ready to name his starter following the Pittsburgh Steelers' loss to the Detroit Lions, Wilson being pulled after leading the offense on a five-play touchdown drive could be a sign that his QB1 status has been wrapped up. And though Justin Fields showed some promise in small bursts, he again was plagued by the kind of mistakes that Tomlin has repeatedly called out. Wilson's coronation later this week seems inevitable.
From the time the Denver Broncos selected Bo Nix in the No. 12 slot of this year's draft to the point when the New Orleans Saints chose Rattler on Day 3, a record 138 picks elapsed between quarterbacks hearing their names called. That gulf left some to write off the South Carolina signal-caller. Rattler, however, has been sterling throughout the preseason and served up reminders of his immense capabilities as a passer. While his highlight came on a perfectly threaded 21-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, his full day leading four scoring drives helped underscore his command. It's unclear what effect Rattler's latest performance had in the battle against Jake Haener to back up Derek Carr – Saints coach Dennis Allen praised Haener for how he has fared in practice as of late – but Rattler's arrow is certainly pointing up heading into his first season.
Carolina Panthers fans likely won't be put at ease about the trajectory of the 2023 No. 1 pick simply based off how he fared in one preseason series. Still, given how disastrous the quarterback's debut campaign was, any indication of first-year coach Dave Canales and Co. getting the quarterback on a promising course is no doubt welcome. Young went 6-of-8 passing for 70 yards and a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills. His most impressive play of the day came on a fourth-and-3 when he broke the pocket and dashed to his left before finding wide receiver Diontae Johnson for a 17-yard gain.
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft got plenty of reps in the Cowboys' preseason finale against the Chargers, a significant development for a quarterback with just 102 passes in three pro seasons. Still, Dallas enters the regular season still unable to trust its backup job to Lance, for whom the organization gave up a fourth-round draft pick to acquire in last year's trade with the 49ers.
Saturday night was illustrative of the predicament. The 6-4, 222-pounder showcased his enticing potential by racing for a 46-yard touchdown run and throwing for another score. Yet there's no way to sugarcoat a five-interception performance, even in the preseason. The decision-making that drove the turnovers was frequently baffling, especially on a pick-six in which undrafted rookie linebacker Tre'mon Morris-Brash trucked Lance en route to the end zone.
Jerry Jones has already confirmed Lance will be on the 53-man roster, but the No. 2 role behind Dak Prescott almost certainly will belong to Cooper Rush. The real issue for Dallas, however, is a matter of timing. The only path forward to develop Lance, who enters the final year of his contract after the club declined his fifth-year option, is to give the highly inexperienced signal-caller a more meaningful run. But barring a major injury, those opportunities will be almost impossible to come by on a Dallas team that is fully focused on the present – perhaps at the expense of the long term.
Safety Lewis Cine (first round), linebacker Brian Asamoah (third round) and cornerback Akayleb Evans (fourth round) all appear to be on the roster bubble and could either be cut or traded after playing Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles. But the group's continued trouble extended even outside of Minnesota this weekend, as cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. – a second-round selection who was traded to the Cowboys earlier in August for fellow cornerback Nahshon Wright – gave up a 78-yard touchdown to the Chargers' Simi Fehoko. While the Booth trade marked the beginning of the Vikings cutting their losses with this class, Tuesday could serve as the end point of that process.
When can both entrants in a quarterback competition be considered losers on the same night? In New England's case, it's hard to declare any passer forced to play behind this front a true winner. After being sacked on a play in which defensive end KJ Henry went untouched, Brissett left Sunday night's tilt against the Washington Commanders with a shoulder injury that coach Jerod Mayo seemed to indicate wasn't serious. Maye, meanwhile, frequently overcame poor protection to complete 13 of 20 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown.
Mayo's postgame declaration that Maye is "the second-best quarterback on our roster right now" suggests that Brissett will start the opener so long as he's healthy. But given the state of this front, which also committed a slew of penalties, remaining in the lineup for long could prove tricky for any signal-caller. And if the line doesn't clean things up quickly, New England might have serious pause about putting Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in April's NFL draft, in an unfavorable situation at any point early in the season.
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