Will Levis, Trevon Diggs Among Notable Players Released on NFL Roster Cutdown Day

The 2026 NFL Preseason ended on Saturday, making Sunday a day filled with anxiety for many of the players in the NFL. That’s because Aug. 30 marked the day that NFL teams must cut down their rosters from the 90 players they carried during preseason to the 53 who will be on it for the start of the regular season.

Many of the players cut will see their football careers end, while others may revert to a practice squad or get picked up by another team. While most of those being cut are unknowns to even diehard fans, there is always a group of surprise releases involving known commodities around the NFL.

These are the most noteworthy players released on the 2026 NFL Cutdown Day.

QB Jake Browning, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After five years as Joe Burrow’s backup in Cincinnati, Browning joined the Bucs this offseason, seemingly as the backup to another Heisman winner in Baker Mayfield. However, he only lasted the offseason in Tampa, losing the No. 2 job to undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels.

The Bucs are going to start the season with just two quarterbacks, which is becoming the norm in the NFL, but it’s surprising that one of those has never taken a snap in the league before. Browning was serviceable in 2023 in filling in for Burrow but looked overwhelmed in 2025 when again filling in for the Bengals’ QB1. However, he’s just 30 and should easily find a new home shortly.

QB Will Levis, Tennessee Titans

Tennessee traded up to select Levis in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft and then saw him start 21 games from 2023-2024. But then the Titans drafted Cam Ward first overall last year, and Levis missed the entire season due to injury. Entering this season, Levis made some headlines by saying there aren’t 32 quarterbacks better than him, but currently, he’s not even one of the 80 quarterbacks signed to an active NFL roster after being released.

His draft pedigree and being just 27 will make him, arguably, the most sought-after QB released on Sunday. Perhaps, his former Titans coach Mike Vrabel will look to reunite with him and bring him to New England to serve as Drake Maye’s backup.

WR Noah Brown, Las Vegas Raiders

No NFL team has as barren a depth chart at wide receiver than the Raiders. Thus, it’s not a great sign for Brown’s prospects that he couldn’t be among the top six wideouts on the team. Brown is a serviceable sub-package receiver whose best years came with three different teams from 2022-2024, when he averaged 525 yards per season. He only played in four games last year with the Commanders due to a pair of stints on injured reserve, as injuries have been a recurring theme throughout his career.

DT Mazi Smith, New York Jets

In 2023, Smith was a first round pick by the Dallas Cowboys. In 2024, Smith started all 17 games for Dallas. In 2025, Smith—along with two draft picks—was traded to the Jets in the deal that brought Quinnen Williams to Dallas. And now, in 2026, Smith is out of the NFL.

Last year, the Jets allowed the second-most points in the NFL, and the prior year, the Cowboys allowed the second-most points. The one link between those two defenses was that Smith was on them, so this transaction could end up as addition by subtraction for New York.

LB Elandon Roberts, Pittsburgh Steelers

A two-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots, Roberts started 16 games for the Raiders last year, after starting 14 games for the Steelers the prior season. Thus, when he rejoined Pittsburgh as a free agent this offseason, the Steelers knew what they were getting.

However, it appears spending a year in Las Vegas can age one in dog years as the veteran didn’t survive final cuts. Roberts was one of a number of veteran linebackers to get released by Pittsburgh. Also getting the heave ho were Malik Harrison, who started nine games for the team last year, as well as Jamin Davis, who was a first round pick in 2021 and also spent last year in Vegas.

CB Trevon Diggs, Seattle Seahawks

A former All-Pro (2021) and two-time Pro Bowler (2021–2022), Diggs was attempting to revive his career after a couple of injury-plagued and underperforming seasons. He joined Seattle as a potential replacement for the departed Tariq Woolen, but the Seahawks either found a better option to replace Woolen, or they’re still on the lookout.

The Seahawks are the third team to release Diggs since December 2025. He turns 28 in September but is four years removed from his last notable season. Maybe he can call his older brother, Stefon Diggs, and convince his employer, the Commanders, to give the younger Diggs a shot after Washington finished 28th in pass defense last season.

K Blake Grupe, Indianapolis Colts

The NFL’s most accurate active PAT kicker is now without a job. Grupe leads all active kickers with a 98 percent success rate on extra point attempts, as he’s gone 96 for 98 across his three pro seasons. However, his field goal precision leaves lots to be desired as that sits at 81.9 percent. The Colts are moving forward with Spencer Shrader as their kicker despite his inexperience as he has just 19 field goal attempts across his two-year NFL career.