By 3 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, NFL teams must reduce their 90-player preseason rosters to the 53 active players allowed for the regular season. Three of the four teams that wrapped up their preseason schedules on Thursday night began reducing their numbers on Friday.
On Friday, the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, and New England Patriots collectively released five players and waived 27 others.
Former Auburn defensive tackle Philip Blidi was one of the guys the Patriots dismissed. Blidi, who signed with New England on Tuesday, participated in 17 defensive snaps during Thursday night’s 42-10 Patriots defeat to the Giants.
Blidi was waived by the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. In May, Blidi signed with the Titans as an undrafted rookie.
Former James Clemens High School standout Monty Rice was cut by the Patriots. After being selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the linebacker has participated in 38 games throughout the preceding four seasons. After playing 17 special teams plays and 48 defensive snaps in Thursday night’s preseason game, Rice was cut.
Wide receiver Montrell Washington was one of the players cut by the Giants. After playing in 15 games as a fifth-round rookie with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022, the former Samfordstar has not played in a regular-season game in the last two seasons.
The Steelers released a number of players, including cornerback Mickey Victor. After spending the majority of the offseason as an undrafted rookie with New England, the former Alabama State defensive back signed a contract with Pittsburgh on August 11.
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Mark Inabinett works for Alabama Media Group as a sports writer. You may follow him at @AMarkG1 on X.
