It's almost time for roster cutdowns around the NFL. On Tuesday, teams will need to whittle down to 53, which means a lot of players are about to hit the free-agent market — or get flipped somewhere else for a draft pick just ahead of the deadline. Most of those players will either wind up on practice squads or will be looking for non-NFL opporunities, but some players might be able to find a home immediately somewhere else in the NFL.
There are a number of teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, who need reinforcements at wide receiver. Those teams will have a chance to grab some useful players after Tuesday, but who are those helpful players? What receivers might be available that could actually help a team?
Here are four wide receiver cut candidates who could still help an NFL team.
Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots
The fact that Kendrick Bourne will probably be available in a few days seems a little surprising, but everything appears to be trending that direction.
An ankle injury has kept Bourne sidelined this month and in that time, players like Efton Chism III have made key moves up the pecking order, putting Bourne in a tough spot. The Patriots seem content to go with Stefon Diggs as their No. 1 guy, Mack Hollins as their veteran and then a collection of young guys around those two.
But Bourne still has plenty left in the tank. He's not a game-changing player, but a reunion with his former team, San Francisco, would make a lot of sense as the Niners deal with a number of injury issues.
Javon Baker, New England Patriots
When I think of New England's receiving unit, I usually feel pretty meh about it. But the issue isn't the depth; it's the lack of a true No. 2 option there. The Patriots have plenty of solid depth pieces, and look bound to move on from multiple of them next week.
The battle for the last receiver spot looked like it would come down to Javon Baker, Ja'Lynn Polk and Efton Chism III, but a season-ending shoulder injury to Polk has bettered Baker's shot of making the roster. Still, Chism's potential on special teams might mean that Baker is out of luck unless New England keeps seven receivers, and there's really no reason to keep seven guys.
The 2024 fourth-round pick caught just one pass as a rookie and has shown some flashes in the preseason, but it appears he needs to find a new home to really unlock his potential.
Malachi Corley, New York Jets
When the Jets picked Western Kentucky receiver Malachi Corley in the third round last year, the consensus seemed to be that New York had gotten a steal. Corley was so, so good in college and made a lot of sense in the slot in the Aaron Rodgers-led Jets offense.
Well ... yeah, that line of thinking failed pretty fast, as Corley caught three passes for 16 yards as a rookie. He hasn't looked much better this offseason and it feels like a near certainty that he'll be released.
The Jets don't even have a very strong receiving unit, with guys like Tyler Johnson and Brandon Smith more or less locked into the roster. The fact that Corley can't crack this group is a very bad sign, but there's a reason people were high on him a year ago. Some NFL team is going to believe they can coach him into a reliable slot option.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kansas City Chiefs
Tyquan Thornton has emerged as a player that the Chiefs basically have to keep at this point, but finding a roster spot for him means you have to let someone else go. There's a good chance that someone is JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Smith-Schuster caught 18 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns last year. Once regarded as one of the NFL's best young talents at the position, Smith-Schuster fell off hard in 2021 before bouncing back in 2022 with another strong campaign as he moved to Kansas City.
The last two years, though, have been a struggle. After completely falling apart in New England in 2023, Smith-Schuster returned to K.C. but failed to recapture the magic of his first Chiefs tenure.
He's not a lock to be cut, but with how good Jason Brownlee looked in the preseason, Smith-Schuster is expendable. He'd be a cheap option for a team in need of receiver depth, though there are valid concerns about if the 28-year-old has enough left in the tank.