Broncos To Release Ronnie Hillman
The Broncos have released running back Ronnie Hillman, tweets Mike Klis of 9NEWS.
Hillman, a 2012 third-round pick, paced Denver’s running backs in offensive snaps (524) during the 2015 regular season. He also led the team’s rushers in starts (11), attempts (207), yards (863) and touchdowns (seven). Hillman wasn’t exactly integral during the Broncos’ Super Bowl-winning playoff run, though, as he rushed for 54 yards on 32 carries in their three victories. C.J. Anderson had as many carries (54) in that stretch as Hillman did yards, and the former racked up between 72 and 90 yards in all three games.
Denver will save $1.4MM of the $2MM contract it handed Hillman this offseason.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Ravens Release Justin Forsett
The Ravens have released running back Justin Forsett, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
With rookie Kenneth Dixon nursing a knee injury, Baltimore looks set to count on Terrance West and Javorius Allen at running back. Forsett, 30, was a revelation in 2014, rushing for more 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns though he had been considered a career backup/special teamer. Injuries cost Forsett last season, as he only managed to play in 10 games.
The Ravens are clearing $3MM off their books by releasing Forsett, but will incur $700K in dead money.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Broncos To Release Mark Sanchez
The Broncos are releasing Mark Sanchez, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
Denver has announced that Trevor Siemian will be under center when the Broncos open the season in Week 1. As such, Sanchez simply wasn’t a fit for the Denver roster unless he was the backup signal-caller. With first-round pick Paxton Lynch pushing him for that role, Sanchez’s cap hit wasn’t palatable for a No. 3 QB.
While Siemian is only due to earn a minimum salary during the upcoming season, Sanchez was scheduled to count $4.5MM on Denvers’ salary cap, $1MM of which is guaranteed. Sanchez could have earned another $3MM through incentives, but the Broncos cleared $3.5MM off their books by trading him before the start of the season.
The Eagles will not receive a conditional draft pick given that Sanchez will not make Denver’s roster.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Browns Down To 53
The Browns have officially cut down to a 53-man roster, according to a team announcement.
The team’s cuts include receivers Taylor Gabriel and Marlon Moore. Undrafted out of Abilene Christian in 2014, the 5-foot-8, 176-pound Gabriel appeared in 29 of a possible 32 regular-season games with the Browns and started four. He amassed 64 receptions for 862 yards and a touchdown during that time, with most of those numbers coming as a rookie. Gabriel caught 36 passes on 72 targets and averaged a prolific 17.1 yards per reception in his first year, but that figure fell to a paltry 8.6 on his 28 grabs in 2015.
Moore, a six-year veteran, previously saw action with the Dolphins and 49ers before joining the Browns last season. He pulled in only seven receptions in 14 games in Cleveland.
The full list is below.
Released:
- WR Marlon Moore
Waived:
- DL Kenton Adeyemi
- DL Chigbo Anunoby
- DB Pierre Desir
- RB Jahwan Edwards
- DB Mikell Everette
- OL Dan France
- WR Taylor Gabriel
- DB Charles Gaines
- OL Garth Gerhart
- TE Connor Hamlett
- TE J.P. Holtz
- WR Darius Jennings
- OL Kaleb Johnson
- OL Mike Matthews
- LB Jason Neill
- DB Eric Patterson
- P Kasey Redfern
- LB Justin Tuggle
Saints To Waive Chris McCain
The Saints will cut defensive end Chris McCain, a source tells Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com (Twitter link). New Orleans had just acquired McCain from the Dolphins days ago.
McCain, 24, is entering his third season in the NFL, but hasn’t contributed much during his first two years in the league. He’s appeared in 19 games, but he’s been more of a special teams player than a defensive stalwart. McCain picked up a sack and a forced fumble in 2015, but only played on 113 total snaps (43 on defense), and wasn’t ticketed for a larger role this year.
The Dolphins will not acquire a conditional draft pick from Miami given that McCain did not make the roster.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jets Waive Dee Milliner
2:25pm: Milliner was waived with an injury designation, so if he clears waivers, he’ll revert to the Jets’ IR list, tweets Daryl Slater of NJ.com. Of course, New York could then release him with an injury settlement.
1:51pm: With the Jets looking to trim their roster to 53 players, the front office has dropped a high draft pick from the old regime. After unsuccessfully trying to trade former first-rounder Dee Milliner, the Jets have opted to simply waive him, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. 
The cornerback’s future in New York was already cloudy, as the Jets had declined to pick up his 2017 option. Furthermore, the team already had a crowded depth chart at cornerback, as Milliner was sitting behind Darrelle Revis and Buster Skrine. In three seasons with the team, Milliner has appeared in 21 games. The 24-year-old has compiled 63 tackles and three interceptions (all during his rookie campaign) throughout his career.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Albert Breer of MMQB.com (via Twitter) first reported that the Jets were working to trade Milliner.
Cowboys Will Keep Darren McFadden
Although trade rumors had swirled around running back Darren McFadden, the Cowboys plan to keep the veteran running back, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. McFadden will go on the NFI list, meaning he will miss the first six weeks of action.
Fourth overall pick Ezekiel Elliott is poised to take over the Cowboys’ starting running back job, and free agent signee Alfred Morris has performed well in camp. Pass-catching back Lance Dunbar, meanwhile, has come off the PUP list and will be ready for the start of the season, so Dallas could have trouble finding carries for McFadden.
Still, McFadden is a pretty valuable asset given that he rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season and will cost only $1.25MM in base salary. However, his health has always been a question mark, and he’s injured at the moment. McFadden is dealing with an elbow ailment and still hasn’t practiced this offseason.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Colts Cut Stevan Ridley, Others
The Colts are cutting running back Stevan Ridley, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
Ridley was signed by the Colts just days ago after he was cut by Detroit. The Colts have spoken at length about their plan to preserve Frank Gore‘s legs by lightening his workload and Ridley figured to be a part of that. Alas, the Colts didn’t see enough from Ridley in the last few days to keep him on the 53-man roster.
After spending his first four years in the NFL with the Patriots, Ridley signed with the Jets last season, but didn’t see the field all that much after coming off the PUP list. With Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell handling the majority of the workload out of the backfield, Ridley took over for Zac Stacy as the No. 3 back and earned just 36 carries, totaling only 90 yards for a career-worst 2.5 yards per attempt. His stint with Indianapolis could represent his best opportunity to reestablish himself as a quality back.
Here’s the running list of the Colts’ cuts so far today (links via Mike Wells of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified):
- RB Stevan Ridley
- WR Tevaun Smith (Twitter link via Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star)
- DE Ronald Thompson
- DL Sterling Bailey (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
- DT Kelcy Quarles (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com)
- ILB Trevor Bates (link)
- ILB Nate Irving (via Holder)
- OLB Earl Okine
- CB Tay-Glover Wright
- CB Christopher Milton
- S Alden Darby
- S Lee Hightower
- WR MeKale McKay
- OG Kitt O’Brien
- OG Adam Redmond
- OT Mitchell Van Dyk
- OT Jeremy Vujnovich
The team has also placed offensive guard Hugh Thornton, cornerback Tevin Mitchel and linebacker Ron Thompson on the injured reserve, according to Holder and Alex Marvez of SiriusXM (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has started 32 of his 37 games through his three seasons in the league.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bengals Bring Roster To 53
The Bengals are now in roster compliance, having brought their roster to 53. The following players have been cut:
- WR Jake Kumerow (Twitter link via Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer)
- CB Darius Hillary (link via Owczarski)
- DE Ryan Brown (link via Owczarski)
- G Alex Cooper (link via Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com)
- FB Andrew Bonnet
- RB Tra Carson
- DT David Dean
- T Aaron Epps
- RB Bronson Hill
- G Trey Hopkins
- TE Matt Lengel
- CB Tony McRae
- G Alex Redmond
- WR Alonzo Russell
- WR Rashaun Simonise
- G Trip Thurman
- T John Weidenaar
- QB Keith Wenning
- CB Chykie Brown
Additionally, DT Marcus Hardison was placed on injured reserve and WR Mario Alford was waived with an injury settlement, tweets Owcazrski.
Kumerow had been fighting for a reserve wide receiver spot on a Cincinnati club that lost several of its pass-catchers over the offseason. And though he offers special teams value, Kumerow wasn’t able to beat out the likes of Cody Core and Alex Erickson to join a depth chart that includes A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd, and Brandon LaFell.
On Friday, the Bengals released safety Jimmy Wilson.
Steelers Trim Roster To 53
The Steelers have reduced their roster to the league-mandated 53 players.
The following players have been cut:
- DT Lavon Hooks (Twitter link via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com)
- RB Brandon Brown–Dukes (Twitter link via Fowler)
- OG Shahbaz Ahmed
- OL Antoine Everett (Twitter link via Fowler)
- OL Matt Feiler (Twitter link via Fowler)
- OLB Travis Feeney (Twitter link via Fowler)
- DB Ray Vinopal (Twitter link via Fowler)
- DB Montell Garner (Twitter link via Fowler)
- WR DeMarcus Ayers
- WR Cobi Hamilton
- WR Marcus Tucker
- RB Cameron Stingily
- OL Wade Hansen
- CB Doran Grant
- CB Al-Hajj Shabazz
- CB Donald Washington
- DL Caushaud Lyons
- DL Johnny Maxey
- LB Steven Johnson
- LB Jermauria Rasco
- QB Bryn Renner
- TE Paul Lang (waived/injured)
As Fowler observes, the Steelers’ recent wave of offensive lineman cuts could be good news for B.J. Finney, who came into today firmly on the roster bubble. Feiler, like Feeney, is a practice squad candidate.
Hooks, an Ole Miss product, was signed by the Packers as a UDFA following the 2015 draft, but Green Bay cut him last August as part of the 75-man cutdown. He caught on with the Steelers in February, and at least made it to the final cutdown day, so that qualifies as progress.
Ahmed was part of the Falcons’ crop of UDFAs this year but was waived by Atlanta last month. The Temple product made the switch from defensive lineman to offensive lineman during his junior year, and he started 12 of 13 games at left guard for the feel-good Owls last year.
Rory Parks contributed to this post