Cutdown days loom for fringe players

The preseason is about 75% complete at ths point, which means not only are we that much closer to meaningful football instead of the parade of unknowns, it also means that some of those unknowns are about to go back to being door-to-door salesman or stockers at the local gorcery stores. 

 During the season, anyone can be cut at anytime, with a few minor caveats in place.  Players get released all the time.  Some latch on with new teams, some never play in the league again.  The pre-season, however, is the only orchestrated time when players get the ax in unison.  One of those days is tomorrow, August 31st, as teams are required to go from the 80 player roster they currently sit at, down to 75. 

Cutting 5 players seems like no big deal, and you would think that most of the guys cut are ones that you either never heard of or knew were being left off the final roster.  It's probably true in most cases, but every once in awhile, a bigger name gets cut, like Laverneus Coles, who was chopped by the Jets a few days ago.  I don't see that being the case with the Bucs as the fringe players are certain to go. 

The next big cut down date is September 4th, just 5 days away.  Here the NFL teams have to go from 75 to 53.  There are generally some surprises and this will hold true for the Bucs as well.  Notable names on the roster bubble include Clifton Smith, Michael Clayton, Michael Spurlock, and maybe even a Ryan Sims or Stylez G. White.  There is generally a flurry of activity on cut day as teams not only try to scoop up players, but also form a practice squad. 

The beginning of the season is here, which means the end of the road for some players.  Such is the business side of the NFL.