Yesterday was cutdown day in the National Football League. Every team had to trim their roster to 53 players for the upcoming regular season. Here are a few of the notable names who were cutdown victims and who are now looking for gainful employment with another NFL team as soon as possible:

Rudi Johnson, Bengals; Chris Simms, Bucs; Joey Harrington, Falcons; Ashley Lelie, 49ers; Jerome McDougle, Eagles; Willie Anderson, Bengals; John Lynch, Patriots; Fernando Bryant, Patriots; Adam Archuleta, Raiders.

I was probably most surprised by the Bengals parting ways with Rudi Johnson. Rumors have been swirling the past couple weeks that Rudi was on the trading block, but I didn’t think the Bengals would just cut him loose. When no interesting trade offers developed for the Bengals, that’s exactly what they did — the team simply released him. Their reasoning was largely because of a nagging hamstring injury that forced Rudi to miss much of training camp. Head coach Marvin Lewis said:

“We haven’t seen Rudi play (in preseason). I’ve seen Rudi practice very few times, and cut it loose very few times. I thought he had an outstanding offseason. I thought he had a great spring and was doing everything, but unfortunately, he seemed to suffer from the hamstring.”

It goes to show just how short-lived the career of an NFL running back can be. From 2004-2006, Rudi played in every game and exceeded 1,300 yards rushing and had 12 touchdowns in each of those seasons. When he was limited to 11 games and just under 500 yards in an injury plagued 2007 season, little did he know his days with the Bengals were over.

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Cincinnati Bengals Rudi Johnson Among High-Profile NFL Roster Cutdown Victims

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Atlanta Falcons rookie Matt Ryan was named the team’s season-opening starting quarterback by head coach Mike Smith today. Matt will also start the Falcons preseason finale against Baltimore this Thursday:

“We have evaluated Matt through OTAs, mini-camp, training camp and over the course of three preseason games. After reviewing Matt’s progress, we feel like he has won the starting job.”

The decision makes sense. In this particular situation, Matt will do better in a “baptism-by-fire” than he will watching and learning from the sidelines. In three preseason contests, Matt has completed 32 of 52 passes for 277 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for an 80.4 passer rating. I could say not bad for a rookie, but he’s clearly the better option over Chris Redman or Joey Harrington. The Atlanta Falcons aren’t going to the playoffs and Matt will take his lumps this season. But in the long run, this assignment will only help the development of Matt’s career and the development of this team.

Source: AtlantaFalcons.com, Photo: Newscom

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Matt Ryan Named Starting QB for Falcons

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Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan signed a six-year, $72 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons yesterday. The deal ended concerns that lengthy negotiations would hinder Matt’s chances of becoming the team’s starting QB this season. The Falcons weren’t going to let that happen because even though head coach Mike Smith has said the starting quarterback job is an open competition, he knows his personnel. Coach Smith said:

“If he’s the best player, whether he’s a rookie quarterback or rookie offensive lineman or rookie linebacker, we want those guys to come in here and compete. We’re going to put the best player out there on the field.”

Let’s be serious. Neither Joey Harrington nor Chris Redmond has been able to prove they are worthy of being a consistent starting quarterback in the National Football League. Joey did it for a short while in Detroit and he’ll be a solid #2. Chris a reasonable #3. And while Matt Ryan will certainly take his lumps and have his fair share of growing pains during his rookie season, he is the $72 million answer for the Falcons and the hope of this franchise. Now.

Source: AtlantaFalcons.com, Photo: Newscom

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Six Years, $72M for Falcons QB Matt Ryan