NFL teams trimmed their rosters to 53 players over the weekend. It’s a celebration for most and a very dark day for others.
What fans must understand is that a pro football roster is a working document, not a tablet chiseled in stone. The joy of making the "final roster” on cutdown day can turn to despair as a club claims players released from other squads and then must make additional moves. For those at the bottom of a depth chart, you never really feel safe. It’s the nature of the business.
To be honest, I never felt secure from year to year — even as a starter, or a contributing member from the previous season’s team.
From my experience, 75 percent of the players enter training camp knowing they are relatively safe. Those are the Pro Bowlers, the All-Pros, the established starters. In the final week of camp, players like Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt and Ben Roethlisberger are just trying to get down their timing down and remain healthy.
For others, the final week before cutdown day weighs on your mind. At least it did with me. The few times I felt comfortable were in the years I had just signed a new deal. That might sound crazy, but it was my mindset.
Sometimes, an organization will release veterans a few days early to give them a head start on signing with another team. The Steelers are an organization very loyal to vets as long as their play is “above the line” as Mike Tomlin likes to phrase it. But as someone who came into his first camp as an undrafted free agent, I never lost that grinder’s mentality. I couldn’t allow myself to depend on the “above the line” roster philosophy.
Let me take you back to my first camp in 2009. It’s the first time I saw the “grim reaper” making the rounds. I had no idea how I would react if someone told me I was being released. Veterans would say, “No call is a good thing,” but they forget to tell you about the phone calls from outside well-wishers who are checking on your status. They mean the best, of course. They want to congratulate you or console your broken heart. But it just adds to the stress.
Guys put their lives on hold for that opportunity to make an NFL team. And suddenly, it can be crushed with one call or visit from a member of the organization.
The way the Steelers traditionally have gone about cutdown day is to hold a team meeting at 2 p.m. If you make it to the meeting, that means you didn’t get the dreaded call or visit from the reaper. Welcome to the squad. But as I mentioned earlier, don’t get cozy. The roster is fluid. There’s likely to be some new faces showing up courtesy of the waiver wire, which means there must be a corresponding move.
It’s such an unsettling time for guys on the fringes of a roster. Imagine thinking you’ve just landed your dream job — you make calls to parents and other loved ones — and 24 hours later you’re being told to surrender your playbook and get shown the door.
What other business operates like this?
The first guy I saw get cut was a young offensive lineman. He had joined the Steelers the previous season during the playoff run to the Super Bowl, and he earned himself a ring. Ironically, on this day in the summer of 2009, he also was a player joking about the “grim reaper” coming to let guys know they were about to be released.
The way the old weight room was situated at team headquarters on the South Side, the elliptical and cardio machines were near the back window that looked out opposite the practice fields. The reaper walked through the back entrance of the locker room and turned right toward all of us getting in a cardio session. The offensive lineman I’m referencing seemed to know the reaper was coming for him. The player didn’t want to face embarrassment in front of his peers.
“Don’t you bring your freaking behind back here!” the player yelled. That’s not exactly how the lineman phrased it, if you know what I mean.
Football teams have many people working for them, so you’re never sure who the messenger might be. On this day, the reaper delivering the bad news — he’s actually telling the player, “Coach wants to see you” — was an intern.
The player being cut bowed his head and turned as red as I’ve ever seen someone turn. He walked away from us and tossed a bottle of water against the window. It didn’t break the window, but I vividly remember the strength coach getting upset and telling the player to control his emotions.
Just like that, his career with the Steelers was over. Adding to the shock value, for me, it was a player who had something I’ve always wanted — a Super Bowl ring. Talk about unforgettable memories and valuable lessons.
During that season, I would see the released player around town. Such images are one reason I rarely got comfortable. I had seen a man get crushed in front of peers. Such visuals are what make cutdown days so brutal. I’ve watched mid-round draft picks in their second or third year reduced to tears as they left the building.
All of us are trying to trying to live out our childhood dreams. When roster cuts are imminent, the money doesn’t matter. It’s about the spirit of competition and earning one of those cherished 53 roster spots. Getting released once or twice doesn’t mean a career is over. Think about how many times James Harrison went through the disappointment before becoming a star in the league and a Super Bowl hero.
But there’s another factor to consider. A lot of players don’t have plans outside of football until reality hits. College schedules rarely allow athletes to pursue internships or get real-world work experience. I’m a guy who fell in that category. Football was my plan, even though in the back of my mind I knew I could find work outside the game.
So, as fans get excited about the start of Steelers season, take a moment to think about the guys who had their dreams dashed or delayed over the weekend.
As for the rest, I have major respect for the players who made it through this year’s camp despite all that’s going on in the world.