The NFL’s roster cutdown day brought a familiar mix of good news and bad for Colorado, but plenty of former Buffaloes found a way to stick. On Aug. 30, several ex-CU players survived the league’s 53-man deadline and kept their spots heading into the season.
LaJohntay Wester is one of the names headed back to Baltimore. The wide receiver earned another year with the Ravens, where he is one of six receivers new head coach Jesse Minter will lean on in 2026. Wester also made his case in the preseason, scoring twice.
Chidobe Awuzie is staying in the AFC North as well. The cornerback also remained on the Ravens’ roster after getting limited preseason work, and he continues to be one of the few players still in the league from the Mike MacIntyre era at Colorado.
Jimmy Horn will get another shot in Carolina. The sixth-round pick from the late part of the 2025 NFL Draft flashed in preseason action in front of Panthers coach Dave Canales and now returns to the NFC South champs. He’ll again be catching passes from Bryce Young after appearing in 13 games last season, when he totaled 11 catches for 108 yards.
Travis Hunter was always expected back, and that remained true here. He’s set to play cornerback, though he has not been officially ruled out from lining up at wide receiver again.
BJ Green also made the roster. The edge rusher played alongside Hunter in 2024 before going undrafted, and he now gives the room another body at a position where he becomes the sixth edge rusher.
Nate Landman will have another season with the Rams, but his roster spot came on a busy day for Los Angeles. The Rams opened room to bring back Aaron Donald, who signed a one-year, $20 million deal on roster cutoff day. That means Landman will now be on the same team as the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the first time.
Will Sherman also survived cuts and is back for another year with coach Kellen Moore and the New Orleans Saints. Sherman, 27, had already spent three seasons with the New England Patriots and three with the Denver Broncos before landing in New Orleans. He first joined the Saints on the practice squad in Sept. 2025, then worked his way onto the active roster.
The defending Super Bowl champions kept Brady Russell, too, and he’ll remain on the roster as a fullback. Russell’s Colorado path has been a winding one: he began as an outside linebacker under MacIntyre before moving to tight end, was named captain for the truncated 2020 season, and later dealt with an injury. He’s also remembered as a Burlsworth Trophy nominee in 2021.
Shedeur Sanders did not win the Browns’ starting quarterback job, with DeShaun Watson getting that nod under new head coach Todd Monken. Still, Sanders was not cut, and he made the roster on Sunday. The former Colorado quarterback from 2023 and 2024 also spoke to the 2026 team in June, and now he’ll be watching incoming quarterback Julian "JuJu" Lewis run Colorado’s new "Go-Go" offense.
In Other News...
Colorado Is Trying To Make Folsom Field Even Louder In 2026
Colorado is spending the run-up to the 2026 football season trying to turn Folsom Field into even more of a factor on Saturdays. Buffaloes athletics announced a new slate of in-game experiences aimed at keeping the crowd engaged from start to finish, including live music from Colorado bands throughout the game, a new in-game host in Gianna Girardi and an upgraded video board presentation.
It is all part of a broader push to sharpen the home-field edge and make the game-day environment feel bigger and louder for fans. For a program that has already leaned hard into atmosphere as part of its identity, the next step is figuring out how these changes actually land once the season arrives and the stands fill up. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado May Have Found A Camp Answer To Its Run Defense Problem
Fall camp has given Colorado a much clearer look at the interior of its defensive line, and Dylan Manuel has been one of the more encouraging developments. The Appalachian State transfer has worked his way into a starting role, where he has paired with Santana Hopper in the middle and given the Buffaloes a sturdier presence against the run.
For a defense that needed help holding up inside, Manuels early camp showing matters because it suggests Colorado may have found someone who can help steady that part of the front before the season starts. The Buffaloes still have games to play before anyone can know how it will translate, but having a lineman emerge this quickly gives the coaching staff at least one reason to feel better about the run defense heading into the fall. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Gets A Chance To Answer What Georgia Tech Exposed
The 2025 season opener gave Colorado an immediate reality check, and the rematch on the 2026 opener will offer a fresh chance to show how far the program has come since Georgia Tech walked away with that first meeting. A lot has changed on both sidelines since then. Georgia Tech has turned over the quarterback spot from Haynes King to Alberto Mendoza and added running back Justice Haynes, while Colorado has reshaped its staff with Brennan Marion as offensive coordinator and Chris Marve as defensive coordinator.
The biggest change, though, may be under center for the Buffaloes, where 18-year-old Julian Lewis is set to start at quarterback. That puts Colorado in a very different place than it was the last time these teams met, with new voices calling the offense and defense and a young passer stepping into the spotlight. The matchup now has the feel of a second test, one that should say a lot about whether Colorado can answer the problems Georgia Tech exposed the first time around. [Read more 🡒]