NFL cutdown day hit former Nebraska players hard, and Sunday’s roster trim turned into a long list of bad news for ex-Huskers across the league.
DeShon Singleton was among the biggest names to lose his spot, but he was hardly alone. In all, 17 former Nebraska players were cut this weekend, and when you add three more who were let go earlier in training camp, the total climbs to 20.
The cuts came from nearly every corner of the NFL and touched almost every position group. According to NTV News reporter and Nebraska insider Randy Silver, the list included Dane Key and Dasan McCullough in Denver; Henry Lutovsky, Javin Wright, John Bullock, Nash Hutmacher and Ben Scott in Tampa Bay; Singleton in Kansas City; Isaiah Neyor in Green Bay; Ceyair Wright in Cincinnati; Jahmal Banks in Tennessee; Trey Palmer and Garrett Nelson in New Orleans; Adrian Martinez in San Francisco; Samori Toure in Philadelphia; Brenden Jaimes in New York; Quinton Newsome in Arizona; Heinrich Haarberg in Carolina; Omar Brown in Miami; and Ochaun Mathis in New York.
The only bit of good news in the mix came from Emmett Johnson, who had spent the preseason with the Kansas City Chiefs and reportedly impressed enough that he may have climbed to RB2 on the depth chart. That stood out on a day when so many of his former Nebraska teammates were packing up.
For Nebraska, the bigger picture is hard to miss. If Matt Rhule and his staff are going to convince people they’ve truly turned the corner, the program has to do better at getting players drafted and helping them stick on NFL rosters when the final cuts come down.
There’s already been plenty of buzz that this year’s Husker roster is the most talented Rhule has had in Lincoln. The first test will be wins. The next one will be whether Nebraska players can make it to the league - and then stay there.
In Other News...
Former Hawkeyes Late NFL Move Changed Everything At Cutdown Day
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Johnsons move was only part of a broader picture for Iowa alumni around the league, with several former Hawkeyes landing on 53-man rosters or practice squads for the 2025 season. It was another reminder of how quickly fortunes can shift at the deadline, where one transaction can reshape a players role in a matter of hours and leave the rest of the leagues former college standouts chasing their own opening. [Read more 🡒]
Former Hawkeyes Cut On NFL Roster Day Already Face A New Race
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Thirteen former Hawkeyes were waived in the latest wave, and nine of them already found their way onto practice squads, leaving four still unsigned as the next scramble begins. Geno Stone stands out among the group, too, with a strong chance to be on an opening day roster after landing with the Buffalo Bills practice squad, but for the rest of Iowa's cut players the real race now is finding the next opening before the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa High School Football Just Took Another Troubling Hit
Another Iowa high school football game has disappeared from the schedule, and this one will not be made up. Meskwaki Settlements varsity matchup with Gladbrook-Reinbeck, set for Sept. 4, was canceled because of low numbers and injury concerns on the Meskwaki side, leaving Gladbrook-Reinbeck to take a forfeit victory on the record.
For a state that has already watched several eight-player programs announce they will not compete in 2026, the latest cancellation is another reminder of how fragile some small-school football schedules have become. When one team cannot safely field enough players, it affects not just a single Friday night but the rhythm of a season, the opponents schedule and the broader picture of where the sport is headed in rural Iowa. [Read more 🡒]