Player Notes

5-6 minutes 8/29/2023By cutting their longest tenured tight end, trading a former starting center and keeping two punters, the Pittsburgh Steelers finalized their initial 53-man roster Tuesday.The Steelers cut 16 players, including fifth-year tight end Zach Gentry, and traded Kendrick Green, their 2021 starting center, to the Houston Texans to get to the roster limit. Among the players the Steelers ...

Defense wins championships, and when the defense might need some help, a future Hall of Fame quarterback can help push a franchise to the Lombardi Trophy.Tom Brady was the missing piece for the Buccaneers when they demolished Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, and the Jets have adopted that formula with Aaron Rodgers as their designated savior.The Jets have talked the No. 1 defense talk ...

3-3 minutes 8/30/2023Heartbreak became elation in a matter of moments.Xavier Gipson, an undrafted free-agent receiver and kick returner, was duped by Jets higher-ups.They thanked him for his contributions and made it seem like he wasn’t sticking around by starting the next sentence by saying “sorry,” before breaking the good news.“They kind of tricked me into thinking I was going to be released,” Gipson, ...

6-8 minutes 8/30/2023During the snap last Saturday before Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers capped his preseason cameo with a touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson, Giants outside linebacker Jihad Ward poked “the bear.”And Rodgers wasn’t thrilled.As Rodgers drifted back during the first quarter of that game and completed a pass to Mecole Hardman, Ward kept rushing toward the quarterback (and “Hard Knocks” ...

5-6 minutes 8/29/2023The month of August has been a whirlwind for Dalvin Cook.Not only did he celebrate his 28th birthday, but he signed with the Jets on Aug. 15.More significant than that, Cook became a first-time father as he flew back down to his home state of Florida shortly after signing his one-year contract with the Jets worth up to $8.6 million.“Now I feel like I’m part of the Jets now, now ...

6-7 minutes 8/29/2023Tuesday was cutdown day in the NFL for all 32 teams.By 4 p.m., teams had to trim their rosters from 90 players to 53, with the regular season beginning next week.This year, the NFL only had one cutdown day after the preseason. Last season, there were two cuts that allowed teams to gradually get their rosters down to 53 players.Despite being in his third season as the Jets coach, ...

Former Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler is working out with the Atlanta Falcons, The Globe’s Ben Volin confirmed Tuesday.“Malcolm is motivated and in great playing shape,” Butler’s agent Justin Allen told Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. “He worked his way back. I feel like his passion and love for the game is there and he has a lot to give to the secondary in Atlanta.”Butler hasn’t played in an NFL regular-season ...

Bill Belichick never answered with much substance this summer when asked several times if the Patriots were holding a competition at quarterback.Tuesday came the definitive answer: No.The Patriots have cemented their quarterback hierarchy, and they are letting it be known that Mac Jones is at the top, with no one to knock him off his perch.Jones not only is the Patriots’ starting quarterback for 2023, ...

COSTA MESA — Surprises? You wanted surprise cuts from Chargers general manager Tom Telesco?Didn’t happen.Since the Chargers decided to run it back with a roster that finished with a 10-7 regular-season record last season and advanced to the playoffs for only the third time in Telesco’s first 10 years as GM, it stood to reason that Tuesday’s cuts to an NFL-mandated 53 players would be predictable.After ...

Despite his impressive preseason play, rookie Aidan O’Connell probably will start the season as the Raiders’ third-string quarterback.The team’s decision to keep Brian Hoyer on the 53-man roster they submitted to the NFL on Tuesday most likely indicates the veteran will back up Jimmy Garoppolo to start the season.The Raiders actually have 54 players on the roster. Running back Josh Jacobs, who returned ...