For many teams around the NFL, the 90 players on the roster when last week’s minicamps ended are the same 90 players the club hopes to carry into training camp next month. We should expect to see some minor roster shuffling over the next few weeks, but for the most part, teams have a pretty good idea of which players will be participating in camp and battling for spots on the regular-season roster a few weeks from now.
Still, not all 32 teams around the league have full 90-man rosters at this point. In a couple instances, recent unanticipated retirements have created roster openings, whereas other clubs may simply be keeping their options open and weighing multiple possibilities as training camp nears. In any case, by our count, there are seven NFL teams that currently have open slots on their 90-man rosters. Here’s the breakdown:
- Atlanta Falcons (2): Since maxing out the 90-man roster with draft picks and rookie free agents, the Falcons have made three cuts and moved Sean Weatherspoon to injured reserve following his season-ending Achilles injury. During that same span, they’ve only signed two players, so there should be two open spots on the roster at the moment.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2): The Bucs signed a pair of tryout players to contracts last week, adding David Gettis and Ronald Talley, but also cut four players. Over the weekend, Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com explored how the team might fill the two openings on its roster.
- Cincinnati Bengals (1): Running back Jeff Scott was waived by the Bengals last week, and the club has yet to sign a replacement.
- Cleveland Browns (1): Like the Bengals, the Browns made a cut a week ago (Earl Bennett) and haven’t yet filled his spot on the roster.
- Denver Broncos (1): Denver hasn’t made a roster addition since waiving Ramon Harewood last month, so the team should have one spot available.
- Green Bay Packers (1): A neck injury forced Johnathan Franklin into early retirement and forced the Packers to waive him with an injured player designation, creating an empty spot on the 90-man roster.
- San Francisco 49ers (1): Eric Wright‘s retirement announcement created an opening on the Niners’ roster last Tuesday.