Final roster predictions, 2021 edition
August 25, 2021
by Steve Thomas
This is my annual roster prediction column, which is always fun to do, although I’d prefer that no one go back and check to see how accurate my prior year versions have been. The NFL’s roster cutdown to 80 was Tuesday. The final roster cut deadline to get down to 53 is Tuesday, August 31, at 4:00 pm E.T., so we won’t have long to wait. Let’s get started.
Quarterbacks (3):
QB1: Ryan Fitzpatrick
QB2: Taylor Heinicke
QB3: Kyle Allen
Practice Squad: Steven Montez
Cut: None
Ron Rivera seems to really like both Heinicke and Allen, and with the expanded practice squad rules again this season, there’s also room for the team to keep Montez. Plus, the team may want to have an extra quarterback around as a result of the NFL’s draconian and silly coronavirus rules.
Running Backs (3):
RB1: Antonio Gibson
RB2: J.D. McKissic
RB3: Jaret Patterson
Practice Squad: Jonathan Williams
Cut: Peyton Barber
Patterson has played his way onto the roster. There’s no room for a fourth running back, so Barber becomes the odd man out. The coaches will definitely want to guard against injury by keeping one on the practice squad, and that’s Williams.
Wide Receivers (6):
WR1: Terry McLaurin (X)
WR2: Curtis Samuel (Z)
WR3: Adam Humphries (slot)
WR4: Dyami Brown
WR5: Cam Sims
WR6: DeAndre Carter
Cut: Tony Brown, Isaiah Wright
Practice Squad: Antonio Gandy-Golden, Dax Milne
With McLaurin, Samuel, and Dyami Brown being roster locks, that only left 3 spots for a host of candidates. Nothing has persuaded me that Washington has a better option than Humphries in the starting slot role, so he’s in. Carter is on the roster by virtue of him winning the punt return job. I picked Cam Sims over Gandy-Golden for the remaining active roster spot because he has more experience and has shown significantly more in games than Gandy-Golden, who can sit on the practice squad for another year. Steven Sims was a tough cut this Monday, because he apparently had a good camp, but with Carter getting the punt return job, there just wasn’t room for him on the roster.
Tight Ends (3):
TE1: Logan Thomas
TE2: Jonathan Bates
TE3: Caleb Wilson
Practice Squad: Sammis Reyes
Cut: Temarrick Hemingway, Ricky Seals-Jones
The top two tight ends are locked in, so the only debate is the final active roster spot. Reyes is too inexperienced and has too far to go to for him to earn a spot this year. Hemmingway has looked bad in his game action, and Seals-Jones hasn’t impressed. My wild card is therefore former Redskin and now Washington player Caleb Wilson.
Offensive Line (10)
LT1: Charles Leno
LG1: Ereck Flowers
C1: Chase Roullier
RG1: Brandon Scherff
RT1: Samuel Cosmi
Swing tackles: Cornelius Lucas, David Sharpe
Swing guard: Wes Schweitzer, Saahdiq Charles
Swing guard/center: Keith Ismael
Practice squad: Rick Leonard, Beau Benzschawel, David Steinmetz
Cut: Tyler Larsen, Wes Martin
The starting left tackle, center, and right guard are set in stone, and it appears as though Cosmi has earned the right tackle position. I’m going with Flowers at left guard, more on a hunch than anything else. Lucas is an obvious swing tackle. This is a tough group to evaluate, but I’m going with Tyler Larsen as the odd man out.
Defensive Line (9):
LDE: Montez Sweat
DT: Daron Payne
DT: Jonathan Allen
RDE: Chase Young
Backup DEs: Shaka Toney, William Bradley-King
Backup DTs: Matthew Ioannidis, Tim Settle, James Smith-Williams
Practice Squad: David Bada, Devaroe Lawrence, Casey Toohill
Cut: Bunmi Rotimi, Daniel Wise, Gabe Wright
The only real question here is whether William Bradley-King has earned a spot, or whether he’s headed to the practice squad, because every other active roster spot seems to be pretty certain.
Linebackers (6):
SAM: Jonathan Bostic
MLB: Jamin Davis
WILL: Cole Holcomb
Backup MLB: David Mayo
Backup OLB: Khaleke Hudson, Jordan Kunaszyk
Cut: Jared Norris, Joe Walker
Bostic, Davis, Holcomb, and Mayo are roster locks. Hudson was a 5th round pick last year, so he’s going to make it. I’m going with Kunaszyk over Norris for the final spot.
Defensive Backs (10):
CB1: William Jackson III
CB2: Kendall Fuller
Slot: Torry McTyer
Safety #1: Landon Collins
Safety #2: Kamren Curl
Backup CBs: Jimmy Moreland, Benjamin St-Juste
Backup Safeties: Dezhazor Everett, Darrick Forrest, Bobby McCain
Practice Squad: Cole Luke, Jeremy Reaves
Cut: Troy Apke, Danny Johnson, Linden Stephens
This is a tough, competitive group. The most obvious cuts are Troy Apke, who seems to be a man without a position, and Linden Stephens, who hasn’t done much this preseason. Reaves is too valuable to not be stashed on the practice squad, and while Johnson has talent, he loses out to numbers and to new blood on special teams.
Specialists (3):
Kicker: Dustin Hopkins
Long Snapper: Cameron Cheeseman
Punter: Tress Way
There’s no competition and thus no debate with this group.
Returners
Punt returner: DeAndre Carter
Kick returner: Jaret Patterson
Carter seems to have earned the punt returner job. I was a bit surprised when the coaches gave Patterson a shot at kick returner against the Bengals, but in my view, his success solidified Patterson’s roster spot. His ability to return kicks makes him more valuable than Barber.