Creating The 2010 NFL All-Cut Team Is Like Visiting A Heisman Graveyard

Many, many good football players were released from their contracts yesterday because NFL teams decided they were too slow, old, ornery, expensive, lazy, injury-prone, and/or deficient in nebulous leadership qualities to keep on an active roster entering the 2010 NFL season. “That’s how football is,” your grandfather and all nine members of ESPN’s NFL Countdown crew explained.

But here at SB Nation, we don’t think that’s fair. So we compiled a roster of the best players to be cut yesterday, and we are honoring them by posting that roster on the Internet for all to see and fear. Matt Leinart, this is your moment.

Quarterback: Matt Leinart, Troy Smith, Chris Simms. What’s better than one Heisman Trophy winner released by the team that drafted him? Nearly every quarterback still on a roster. Also, two of those things, and a quarterback who doesn’t have a spleen.

Running back: Willie Parker, Samkon Gado, Michael Robinson. Running backs who get cut usually fit into either the “old” or “slow” categories. Willie Parker fits both!

Wide receiver: T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Javon Walker, Michael Clayton, Matt Jones, Danario Alexander, Syndric Steptoe. Steptoe is the guy we’re keeping on the roster to yell at so all the other receivers remember to get both feet down in bounds.

Tight end: Chase Coffman, David Martin, Spencer Havner. We have three good backup tight ends.

Offensive line: Max Jean-Gilles, Justin Hartwig, Travis Bright, Brett Romberg, Allen Barbre. Remember when the Packers discussed a trade with Oakland to bring Randy Moss to Green Bay? They declined because they didn’t want to trade a draft pick. Allen Barbre was the guy selected with that draft pick. Whoops.

Defensive line: Derrick Burgess, Jarvis Green, Quinn Pitcock. We’ll run a 3-3-5.

Linebacker: Monty Beisel, Tyjuan Hagler, Bobby Carpenter. We’ll run that 3-3-5 because our secondary is our strength.

Defensive back: Dre Bly, Darren Sharper (physically unable to perform list), Will Blackmon, Nathan Vasher, Chevis Jackson. This is a great list of a lot of guys who returned interceptions and kicks for touchdowns when they were younger and less broken. We do not have a good secondary.

Kicker/punter: Dave Rayner. This makes Rayner’s sixth different team; he was on five NFL teams in as many years. We are excited about him missing a third of his kicks for us!