Commanders Release Five Players As 1st Cut Day Arrives
With Tuesday marking the first day of roster cuts all across the NFL, the Commanders must trim their roster down to 85 players before 4:00 pm eastern standard time. Let’s take a look at which player’s the team has decided to release.
The first roster cuts by Washington include a couple of players who were placed on the reserve/injured list, as the team moved FB Alex Armah and TE Sammis Reyes into a situation where their seasons could be over. Any player placed on injured reserve before the Week 1 cannot return until the following season.
The team could give an injury settlement to Reyes. In that case, he would then be eligible to re-sign with the team later in the season when/if he was deemed healthy. More than likely Reyes will stay on injured reserve and the team will give him another year to develop. While most of these guys are honing in on a craft they’ve done their entire life, Reyes has played less than three years of organized football in his entire life, it’s going to take some time.
Washington has released CB De’Vante Bausby and G Deion Calhoun… Also: FB Alex Armah and TE Sammis Reyes were placed on the reserve/injured list. Washington needs to release one more player today. — John Keim (@john_keim) August 16, 2022
Reyes moving over to the injured reserve highlights one major issue. The only healthy tight ends the Commanders currently on the roster are Curtis Hodges, Armani Rogers, and Eli Wolf. They have exactly zero snaps in the NFL between them.
Commanders Release Five
Among the players the team decided to release were defensive back De’Vante Bausby and guard Deion Calhoun. Both of those players were considered camp bodies (depth) and never really had a chance to make the final-53 without injuries killing the Commanders roster.
Washington also decided to release 5th-year special teamer/safety Troy Apke as well. Apke had spent some time as a starter over the last four years due to injuries along the way, but never really panned into anything more than a gunner on special teams. Which is a role Commanders Head Coach Ron Rivera and company obviously think rookie safety Percy Butler can do as well.
The team will now focus on its next preseason game next Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs. The next roster cut-down day isn’t until August 23, which is next Tuesday. On that day, they’ll have to trim the roster by another five, down to 80 players.
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