The NFL deadline to get to the 53-man roster limit was Saturday at 6 pm and as the time to make cuts got closer and closer, a number of notable players were released from their teams and now are free agents that can sign for Week 1, including at wideout with Ramses Barden, Robert Meachem, Mohamed Massaquoi, Kassim Osgood and Greg Salas on the market.
According to ESPN.com, a number of notable receivers were released, including Edwards and Massaquoi from the NY jets and along with them the team also got rid of Joe McKnight and Greg McElroy from the roster. While Massaquoi wasn't a guarantee to make the roster anyway, he could have added some much needed depth for the Jets after playing for the Browns last season. Massaquoi had 17 catches for 254 yards in nine games and prior to last season he had played in at least 14 games in each of the past three years.
Massaquoi would have been a solid option in the slot and as a bench player for the Jets and now he has the chance to catch on with another team. Edwards had some solid years for the Jets in the past, but the team realized that was a few years ago and clearly he is not looked at as the same player anymore. The 49ers made a number of tough cuts, including to the 33-year-old Osgood and they did it despite losing a number of players to injury.
The 49ers already are without Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham to start the season, but they decided to cut loose Osgood to keep Anquan Boldin. Jon Baldwin, Quinton Patton and Marlon Moore and they are hoping that Manningham can return healthy this season. Osgood is a solid receiver and special teams player and in his career he has 44 catches for 749 yards and five touchdowns.
The most notable cut of the position was to Meachem, who clearly the Chargers were not happy with, since they will still have to pay him $5 million despite cutting him. Meachem turned out to be one of the worst mistakes for the Chargers previous regime along with OL Jared Gaither and now he is gone despite signing a four-year deal that had $14 million in guaranteed after Vincent Jackson left for the Bucs and he ended up with just 14 catches for 200 yards and two scores last season.
Meachem was never consistent for the Chargers and the team went just 7-9 last season and the epitome of his problems came when he dropped a sure TD pass in a 7-6 loss to the Browns. Meachem was praised by GM Tom Telesco after he was released and now the Chargers will try and move on despite losing Danario Alexander to a season ending injury. Greg Salas was released after making 27 catches for 264 yards in his career and the Eagles released him along with a number of other players and he could be back with the practice squad.