NFL teams make surprising roster cuts ahead of deadline

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NFL teams had to cut their final rosters down to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Now that teams are finalized, here's a look at some of the league's most surprising cuts.

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Alex Leatherwood of the Las Vegas Raiders leaves the field after warming up prior to the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sept. 13, 2021. (Chris Unger/Getty Images)

The Raiders surprised just about everyone when they drafted Leatherwood with the 17th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. But to nobody’s surprise, he did not live up to the first-round draft selection.

He had a 45.0 PFF grade in his lone season with the Raiders, and he was cut on Tuesday.

However, before cutting him, the Raiders, according to NFL Network, tried trading him and "got 32 nos."

The Texans brought in Mack after he missed most of the 2020 and 2021 seasons after tearing his Achilles, but with rookie Dameon Pierce impressing in camp and veteran Rex Burkhead in the fold, it didn’t make sense to keep Mack.

Pierce is now the frontrunner to be the team’s lead back, with Burkhead likely taking a third-down role.

Howard was a first-round draft pick in 2017 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and had a decent rookie season, but he failed to improve very much from there and was riddled with several injuries.

The Bills signed him in March to seemingly back up touchdown machine Dawson Knox, and they guaranteed him $3 million. It seems that Buffalo was not impressed with his work in training camp, but Howard could still be sought out by several teams amid his release.

O.J. Howard of the Buffalo Bills is shown during the first quarter of a preseason