Life is about to be really uneasy for every player fighting for a roster spot over the next few days. Every team in the league has to cut their rosters down from around 90 players to 53 on the active roster by August 27th.

It’s an unsettling reality that nearly half of the players who find themselves on a roster right now will either be cut, traded or working their way onto a practice squad.

From a team perspective, cut day can be a saving grace, though. One teams cut candidate can be another team’s answered question.

As we look across the league there are a few players who likely find themselves on the roster bubble but could be an important player on another team’s roster.

Here, we’ll take a look at those instances, highlighting players who could be on the bubble and which teams they might be able to help.

LB/S Markquese Bell, Dallas Cowboys

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Markquese BellJevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Why He’s On the Bubble

The Dallas Cowboys have developed quite the safety room. Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson are solid starters. Juanyeh Thomas saw some run at the position last season and did some good things. Israel Mukuamu and Markquese Bell could be battling for the fourth safety spot.

Mukuamu is a converted cornerback with the ball skills to become a ball-hawk. Bell was physical enough to get moved up to play linebacker for Dan Quinn last season.

Quinn is now gone to Washington so it’s unclear who Zimmer will prefer. Given Bell’s move last season he could be the odd man out and looking for a new team.

Who He Could Help: Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, New York Jets

Bell’s versatility could be of particular interest to the Bills. Not only are they trying to replace Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde this offseason, but they also just lost Matt Milano for at least the majority of the season with a torn biceps.

Bell could be a solution for both problems.

The Denver Broncos let Justin Simmons go this offseason but it wasn’t because they were set at the position. Going after Bell would give them a younger player to help form the foundation of the secondary.

The Jets might have the weakest safety group in the league right now. With few established answers, bringing in someone with Bell’s experience and versatility would be wise.

CB/S James Bradberry, Philadelphia Eagles

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James BradberryCooper Neill/Getty Images

Why He’s on the Bubble

Because it just might be time for a breakup.

The Eagles are trying to wash the bitter taste in their mouths left behind by a second-half collapse in the 2023 season. The secondary was one of the main culprits and James Bradberry’s performance didn’t help matters.

Bradberry gave up 11 touchdowns and a passer rating of 114.3 when targeted last season. The Eagles have moved him from cornerback to safety during training camp in hopes of getting some value out of him.

But with Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson joining a unit that already has some younger projects on it, there might not be room for Bradberry on cutdown day.

Who He Could Help: Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders

Bradberry might not be capable of being an outside cornerback anymore, but he put together a great 2022 campaign. That’s enough to consider that he wasn’t completely to blame for his struggles last season.

The obvious answer is for Bradberry to go to Arizona. His elite 2022 was in part because of defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon who is now the head coach of the Cardinals. However, he could also reunite with another former coach. Patrick Graham holds the defensive coordinator job in Las Vegas and Bradberry played for him with the New York Giants.

He doesn’t have direct ties to the big names on the Falcons coaching staff, but they’ve shown they’re willing to take on aging veterans in an attempt to compete in 2024 and they need another cornerback.

S Lewis Cine, Minnesota Vikings

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Lewis CineBailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Why He Could Be on the Bubble

The Vikings already parted with one young defensive back with injury issues. They traded cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys for Nahshon Wright. Cine could be the next young defensive back to go.

The former first-round pick has been limited to just 10 games in the first two years of his career. The Vikings have a healthy safety competition going on with Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum and Josh Metellus as locked-in options.

The Vikings unofficial depth chart lists Cine as a third stringer with Theo Jackson ahead of him.

Who He Could Help: New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants

Both the New York Jets and New York Giants have questionable safety depth. Cine hasn’t proven enough to be considered a starter for anyone, but he’s a great athlete whose college film looked good enough for him to be a first-round pick. The Giants safety room took a massive hit when Xavier McKinney wasn’t retained and the Jets lost Jordan Whitehead.

The Ravens have a strong starting trio but but Marcus Williams and Eddie Jackson are both on the older side. Cine could be the fourth safety who develops into a long-term solution at the position.

RB Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints

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Kendre MillerDerick E. Hingle/Getty Images

Why He’s on the Bubble

Saints head coach Dennis Allen hasn’t exactly been good about hiding his frustration with second-year running back Kendre Miller.

“He’s talented. I know he’s talented,” Allen said just a few days ago, “but I don’t know if he can learn the system. I don’t know if he can pick up the system, because I haven’t seen him out there.”

Allen’s frustration stems from Miller’s injury history since he was drafted in the third round of the 2023 draft. He played in eight games, but was absent for the others with various injuries and he’s missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury.

The Saints are pretty set with Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams as their top two backs

Who He Could Help: Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants

Allen is right that it’s difficult to count on a player when they haven’t been able to stay healthy. But Miller has enough potential to be worth the risk for a few teams.

He had 273 yards on 51 total touches last season and has decent draft pedigree as a former third round pick. .

The Cowboys would be the obvious place. There isn’t a lot to get excited about with their backfield. What’s left of Ezekiel Elliott could be the No. 1 back with Rico Dowdle looking to overtake him. Signing or trading for Miller would give them a younger back with more upside.

The Chiefs should also be interested if the Saints give up on Miller. Clyde Edwards-Helaire is in playing on a one-year contract and they could be relying on an undrafted fullback in Carson Steele to help out with the running back rotation.

The Giants also make sense as Miller could be worked into a three-man rotation with Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy.

WR Kadarius Toney, Kansas City Chiefs

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Kadarius ToneyDavid Eulitt/Getty Images

Why He’s on the Bubble

Kadarius Toney has a few things going for him. He’s a former first-round pick. That carries weight in the league (sometimes longer than it should). He’s also incredibly athletic, as demonstrated in things like the 65-yard punt return he had in last year’s Super Bowl.

He’s also incredibly frustrating. Toney’s career has been characterized by crucial mistakes and he was inactive for the final three games of the regular season along with the postseason games leading up to the Super Bowl.

Heading toward cut day, he’s far from guaranteed to make the team. Head coach Andy Reid acknowledged Toney has “battled to make the team” amid a hotly contested receiver competition.

Marquise “Hollywood” Brown’s shoulder injury appears to be less severe than originally thought. That means the Chiefs have Rashee Rice, Brown, Justin Watson and Xavier Worthy as near-locks to make the roster.

That leaves Skyy Moore, Mecole Hardman, Justyn Ross and Toney battling for a few spots.

Who He Could Help: Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders, Indianapolis Colts

Figuting out who Toney could help is difficult. On one hand, he’s electric with the ball in his hands and has put together some good games while in the league. On the other, where does someone go when they can’t succeed on the Kansas City Chiefs?

That being said, the Chargers are desperate for receiver help. Maybe Jim Harbaugh’s style of coaching can get Toney to be more consistent. The Commanders need some juice after just trading away Jahan Dotson and Shane Steichen is a good offensive mind on a team that needs to have someone to backup Josh Downs.

WR Robert Woods, Houston Texans

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Robert WoodsRyan Kang/Getty Images

Why He’s on The Bubble

The Houston Texans wide receiver room got really crowded really fast. Robert Woods was brought in to bring some veteran consistency and leadership but it didn’t take long for young guys to make their mark.

Nico Collins and Tank Dell were huge assets to the offense last season. Noah Brown was an underrated weapon for them and they traded for Stefon Diggs. John Metchie III has flashed the ability to help in training camp and the preseason.

All of a sudden it’s hard to justify the 32-year-old Woods when they could save nearly $5 million in cap space by cutting the veteran.

Who He Could Help: Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Commanders, Kansas City Chiefs

Woods is on the older side, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t a useful player anymore. He still caught 40 passes for 426 yards and a touchdown which isn’t bad production if he’s being counted on as a third wide receiver.

There are a few teams that could use a steady player like Woods in their receiving corps.

The Steelers and Commanders spring to mind. Both have been connected to Brandon Aiyuk this preseason. While Woods is no Aiyuk he would give both teams a reliable veteran presence that neither of the teams really have.

Woods would join George Pickens and Van Jefferson as the top options in Pittsburgh while he could help replace Jahan Dotson in Washington. The Commanders just traded the young receiver and need weapons for Jayden Daniels.

The Chiefs should be looking at every opportunity to find receiver help, especially with Marquise “Hollywood” Brown status up in the air after dislocating his shoulder.

QB Bailey Zappe, New England Patriots

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Bailey ZappeMatthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Why He’s on the Bubble

The minute the Patriots drafted Drake Maye it became apparent that Zappe’s roster spot would be in danger. When they drafted Joe Milton with a sixth-round pick, it became nearly inevitable.

That Pats have Jacoby Brissett. He’ll play the role of high-floor veteran and stopgap starter until Drake Maye is ready. The Patriots can basically keep three quarterbacks thanks to the emergency quarterback rule, but holding onto Milton and his bazooka arm is a higher upside play.

That makes Zappe the odd man out.

Who He Could Help: Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams

Bailey Zappe showed some potential as an NFL backup in his first two seasons. He doesn’t possess amazing physical traits but he can run an NFL offense and has a 4-4 record as a starter with a career passer rating of 78.5.

We learned how vital a backup quarterback can be last year. Several major quarterback injuries defined the season and teams with good backup quarterbacks were able to weather those storms and remain competitive.

Right now, it’s hard to feel too good about the backup situations for the Packers, Chargers and Rams. Michael Pratt, a 2024 seventh-round pick, might be on the brink of unseating Sean Clifford as the starter in Green Bay. Easton Stick is set to start for the Chargers if Justin Herbert misses time and Stetson Bennett is backup in Matthew Stafford.

Zappe is arguably a better and/or more experienced option than the rest.