Update: Washington releases Troy Apke; roster is now at 86 players ahead of today’s deadline

first roster cutdown

Coming out of Saturday’s first preseason game against the Panthers, Washington’s had 91 players on the roster (they get an exemption for DL David Bada, who came to the team via the International Player Pathway program). They have to move 5 players off the roster by 4 pm today (Tuesday the 16th) to reach 86 players.

Four moves have been announced so far.

Released

Two players have been released.

Cornerback Da’Vante Bausby is a former AAF and USFL player who has also been active for 26 NFL games in 4 healthy seasons. Despite having just been signed on August 4th, I thought he had a decent chance of sticking to the roster for the entire preseason, but that obviously didn’t happen.

Deion Calhoun was one of several offensive linemen who looked like roster longshots, though I had expected Rashod Hill to be the one on the chopping block today after getting pushed around the field by the Carolina Panthers on Saturday.

Injured Reserve

Two more players have been placed on Injured Reserve.

Sammis Reyes, the converted basketball player who is trying to make it as an NFL tight end, created a lot of buzz in his rookie season a year ago, but showed only limited development. Offseason surgery meant that he had limited opportunities in training camp despite injuries to the top 3 tight ends on the depth chart (Logan Thomas, John Bates and Cole Turner). Instead, Curtis Hodges and Armani Rogers have flashed during camp, and both played the entire game against the Panthers, catching 3 passes each and pushing Reyes to the bottom of the depth chart.

For his part, Sammis Reyes only played two special teams snaps on Saturday, perhaps because his knee was giving him problems.

A season spent on IR would provide the young tight end with more opportunity to develop.

A few weeks ago, I had predicted that Alex Armah, who can play fullback, tight end and special teams, would make the roster as a flexible end-of-the-roster veteran. He did not play against the Panthers.

For Reyes and Armah, there are a couple of options:

1. The players can be placed on IR, which would mean they cannot play for the Commanders in 2022. If the team later releases them, they would be able to sign with any other team if they can get an offer.
2. The players can be released with an injury settlement within a week. This basically means that the team estimates the length of the player’s rehabilitation (eg. 7 weeks) and pays him the money he would have been paid in those 7 weeks, and then releases him. This means the player immediately becomes a free agent (albeit an injured one) who is free to sign with any team (including re-signing with Washington).

Troy Apke released

Updated depth chart

The numbers that appear beside some players’ names are 2022 cap hits per Over the Cap.

Please note that assigned positions and color coding are my own personal opinions. They do not necessarily represent the thinking of Washington’s coaches or front office, nor are they necessarily consistent with fan consensus. This chart represents my interpretation, and may not reflect the thoughts of other writers on Hogs Haven. Finally, when it comes to backup players, I don’t put much effort into making sure that they are on the right or left or behind the specific player that they backup. I mostly just try to fit everyone on the chart efficiently.