Rosters are trimmed down to 53 players and the new NFL season is right around corner. Football's back, y'all!
Now, I'm sure NFL general managers are smarter than I am about football moves. I'm just a guy who watches a lot of games and while I get paid to think about football, I don't get paid what an NFL GM gets paid. Still, sometimes front offices make moves that don't feel quite right, and some of the cuts made this year just didn't feel like they were the right move to make.
Here's one cut from each AFC South team that they'll end up regretting.
Houston Texans: Myles Bryant - Defensive Back
The Texans made a number of cuts this week of players who, IMO, could be contributors elsewhere, including tight end Harrison Bryant and fullback Jakob Johnson, but cutting defensive back Myles Bryant feels like the move with the most chance of backfiring.
I love Houston's starting secondary. Including Jalen Pitre as the nickel, the top five defensive backs on this roster can go toe to toe with anyone. Beyond that, the team has some questions though, and Bryant's ability to play the nickel made it seem like he would have a spot on this roster. He's a versatile defensive back who the team could deploy in multiple ways.
He also played fairly well for the Texans in 2024. You wouldn't know it from the stat sheet as he didn't generate any turnovers or even record a pass defense, but he played his role well and looked like useful depth. Insead, Houston opted to keep M.J. Stewart, Tremon Smith and rookie Jaylin Smith as the backup defensive backs. The latter name was a lock as a 2025 third-round pick, but you could argue that Bryant would have been more useful than the other two.
Indianapolis Colts: JuJu Brents - Defensive Back
In 2023, the Colts took defensive back JuJu Brents with the No.. 44 overall pick. He played in just 11 games over that span, with a season-ending knee injury in 2024 derailing his time in Indianapolis.
Instead of giving him a third year to prove he was worth the second-round pick that Indy used on him, the team waived him on Tuesday. He was quickly claimed off waivers by the Dolphins, officially ending his tenure with the Colts.
The Colts secondary allowed the seventh-most passing yards last season. They addressed that by bringing in Charvarius Ward and Camryn Bynum this offseason, but the final defensive back spot went to UDFA Jonathan Edwards. Nothing against Edwards, but sticking with Brents for one more year and seeing if he could contribute when healthy just feels like a higher-upside move, even if the chance of Brents working out in Indianapolis had started to feel very remote.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Jabbar Muhammad - Defensive Back
I'll be real with you: Jacksonville didn't make a lot of mistakes with its roster cuts. I thought about mentioning rookie quarterback Seth Henigan here, but the team already has Trevor Lawrence and Nick Mullens, so there was no need to carry a third quarterback.
So while I used my own brain for the other three picks here, for the Jaguars I hopped over to Reddit to see who Jaguars fans were most upset by losing. Mostly, the cuts just showed Jags fans that Trent Baalke's final draft was bad, with fourth-rounders Javon Foster and Jordan Jefferson both among the final cuts.
But one name stood out as someone that fans were actually sad to see go: defensive back Jabbar Muhammad.
Jacksonville struggled in pass defense last year, allowing the most passing yards in the league, and Muhammad had a strong preseason. His college tape is good as well, though his final season after transferring to Oregon wasn't as great and seemed to tank his draft stock.
I didn't love the moves the Jaguars made to fix the secondary this offseason outside of the drafting Travis Hunter. Muhammad has upside and might have made more sense than holding on to Christian Braswell.
Tennessee Titans: Xavier Restrepo - Wide Receiver
I don't love the Tennessee Titans receiving room. In fact, I wrote extensively earlier this week about how the team's biggest mistake this offseason was not investing in the position. Sure, four of the receivers who made the roster this season were new additions, but of those, only Tyler Lockett really feels like a notable addition. Van Jefferson has entered his journeyman phase. Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike are mid-round rookies.
Xavier Restrepo isn't a star. He might not even be an NFL player. But on a roster with so many question marks at wide receiver, it just feels like the Titans are going to regret getting rid of a guy who was quarterback Cam Ward's top target at Miami.
I mean, look: I'm sure Bryce Oliver, the last receiver to make the roster, will contribute on special teams and show why he earned a spot on the team, but I just believe that one goal this year for Tennessee should be to make Ward as comfortable as possible. Keeping Restrepo around would have helped with that, and he could have been a solid receiving option in the short yardage game for when the pass rush gets to Ward and he just needs to get the ball out to someone he can trust.