Young cut by Bills
Vince Young is out of work, Terrell Suggs is on PUP and several veteran NFL kickers are on the street after the first set of mandatory NFL cuts.
Teams needed to be down to 75 players Monday, and Young was the biggest name to lose his job. After Buffalo acquired Tarvaris Jackson from Seattle to back up quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, 2006 Offensive Rookie of the Year Young was released.
“Vince, I don’t want to get into what he can do and can’t do, it just didn’t work out,” general manager Buddy Nix said. “We just need to move on and give this guy (Jackson) a try.”
It’s been a tough few years for Young since he was exiled by the Titans for inconsistent play on the field and several incidents off it. Young had a disappointing season as Michael Vick’s backup in Philadelphia last year, and couldn’t make it through the preseason with Buffalo.
Suggs, on the other hand, comes off his best pro season, when he was voted Defensive Player of the Year. But he tore his right Achilles tendon in the offseason and isn’t expected back before November.
By placing him on the physically unable to perform list, the Ravens must be without Suggs for the first six weeks of the season.
Detroit placed on PUP running back Jahvid Best, who hasn’t played since October because of concussion problems.
All 32 teams must be down to the regular-season roster limit of 53 on Friday.
Among the kickers given the boot were Olindo Mare by Carolina, Josh Brown by the Jets and Neil Rackers by Washington.
Mare has played 15 NFL seasons. But Justin Medlock, last with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats, appears to have won the kicking job in Carolina.
Veteran punter Nick Harris was beaten out by sixth-round draft pick Brad Nortman.
“Both of those decisions at kicker were very difficult,” Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said. “In both situations we felt like we had two young kickers with strong legs who had very good training camps.”
Brown lost out to incumbent Nick Folk in New York, and Rackers was beaten out by Graham Gano in Washington.
Gano missed an NFL-high 10 field goal attempts in 2011; five were blocked. Coach Mike Shanahan said Gano “won the statistical battle in practice.”
Also:
• Green Bay lost starting linebacker Desmond Bishop for the season. He went on injured reserve with a right leg problem.
• Cleveland claimed DL Ernest Owusu off waivers from Minnesota and placed linebackers Emmanuel Acho and Chris Gocong on injured reserve, losing them for the season. The Browns also placed defensive tackle Phil Taylor on the PUP list. Taylor tore a biceps muscle lifting weights during the offseason. A first-round pick in 2011, he started all 16 games last season.
• Jacksonville put sixth-year linebacker Clint Session (concussion) on PUP.
• New Orleans released QB Luke McCown and DT Remi Ayodele.
• The New York Giants placed DT Chris Canty and TE Travis Beckum on the PUP list, and released DBs Antwaun Molden and Chris Horton.
• Philadelphia put starting left tackle Jason Peters on the non-football injury list, and DT Mike Patterson on the non-football illness list.
• Pittsburgh released TE Justin Peele and safety Myron Rolle.
• Tampa put two-time Pro Bowl guard Davin Joseph on injured reserve and second-year defensive end Da’Quan Bowers on PUP. Joseph tore the patellar tendon in his right knee last week and Bowers tore his right Achilles tendon during a workout in May and has not participated in training camp.
• Houston let go of veteran LB Omar Gaither and WR Bryant Johnson.
• New England released receivers Jabar Gaffney and Donte’ Stallworth and defensive lineman Gerard Warren. DBs Will Allen and Josh Barrett and FB Spencer Larsen went on injured reserve.