NFL Roster Cuts: 49ers Cut QB Nate Davis To Make Room For Troy Smith

The 49ers on Monday released Ball State quarterback and last year's third-string on the depth chart, Nate Davis, to make room for former Ravens quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith.

Davis was a 5th round pick in 2009, but never played a snap last season with the 49ers. He was a fan favorite among San Francisco fans discontent with the play of starter Alex Smith, but was never able to produce the same infatuation with his coaches. 49ers head coach Mike Singletary, in particular, was vocal in his criticism of Davis.

Smith appeared in 14 games with the Ravens in three seasons, but other than a 2008 preseason competition against incoming first round pick Joe Flacco, never was given consideration for a permanent starting role.

Sunday's announcement that the New York Jets cut veteran fullback Tony Richardson came with the caveat that the team was reported to be likely to bring Richardson back after Week 1, when his salary would not have to be guaranteed for the remainder of the season.

Turns out, it didn't take even that long for the Jets to welcome back the three-time Pro Bowler. The Jets on Monday re-signed Richardson, a day after cutting him. While the veteran was outshined in preseason by rookie John Conner, Richardson remains a valuable and popular locker room presence.

Sunday night, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that it was "imminent" that the Seahawks would cut running back Julius Jones. But that release never came.

Now, a little less than 24 hours later, Schefter reports that Jones has opted to restructure his contract, which saved his job, and prevented Seattle from cutting him.

Expect more at our Seahawks blog, Field Gulls.

As viewers of HBO's "Hard Knocks" are well aware, 38-year-old veteran fullback Tony Richardson has been on the bubble of the New York Jets roster throughout training camp and preseason. Unfortunately, here's a spoiler for this coming week's episode: Richardson has been one the players cut by the team.

Rookie fullback John Conner has so impressed coaches that there was little chance that Richardson was going to be kept on. While Richardson provides valuable veteran leadership, after 16 seasons in the league, the physical gifts aren't there the way they once were.

Nevertheless, a shred of hopes remains. ESPN New York's Rich Cimini tweeted that he has heard that there is a good chance that Richardson could be re-signed by the team after Week 1, when his salary wouldn't be guaranteed for the remainder for the season.

Many observers were surprised to see running back Julius Jones survive the Seattle Seahawks roster cuts on Saturday, but Jones ultimately wasn't going to stick around much longer, as Adam Schefter is reporting that the team cut him and safety Jordan Babineaux on Sunday.

The Seahawks have also released defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson and fullback Owen Schmitt. With the latter move, this likely means there will be fewer self-induced facial lacerations by the Seahawks this coming season.

Jones signed with the Seahawks prior to the 2008 season as the presumptive heir to Shaun Alexander in the Seattle backfield, though Jones failed to live up to the promise he showed with the Cowboys, rushing for fewer than 700 yards in each his two seasons with the team. Now that Jones is out of the picture, Justin Forsett and Leon Washington will split the vast majority of the carries.

UPDATE: Adam Schefter tweeted that the Seahawks have not yet officially cut Jones, but have said such a move is "imminent."

Pat White wasn't the only undersized mobile quarterback to be shown a pink slip on Saturday. The Ravens cut Heisman Trophy-winner Troy Smith loose, too.

Smith had his chances to catch on in Baltimore, but he couldn't break through before Joe Flacco arrived in town, and fell far behind Flacco as the Delaware product settled in, but our Baltimore Beatdown still calls the move "relatively surprising."

Smith, unlike White, has some currency as a passer. He might yet get another chance as an athletic back-up.

The Tennessee Titans cut 20 players on Saturday to trim their team down to the NFL mandated 53-man roster, and among the casualties were QB Chris Simms, RB Samkon Gado and S Myron Rolle.

Rolle, you may remember, is everyone's favorite football player delayed a career in the NFL for a bit so he could study at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He missed part of the Titans' minicamp in May (because he had finals), and that certainly didn't help his chances, especially on a team deep at the safety position.

Noticeably absent among Tennessee's cuts was punchy RB LeGarrette Blount -- he made the 53-man roster, and will form an impressive Titans' running back corps along with Chris Johnson and second-year man Javon Ringer. 

For more reaction, and all things Titans, visit Music City Miracles.

The Miami Dolphins picked Pat White in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. One year, five incomplete passes, and 81 career rushing yards later, the Dolphins have released him.

Our Dolphins blog, The Phinsider, isn't surprised. But it doesn't seem like a good sign for White's NFL future that a team that had question marks at quarterback and a robust wildcat attack couldn't find a reason to keep him.

Among the more surprising results of today's round of NFL roster cuts was New England letting Derrick Burgess go. Our Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit, is a bit perplexed:

The biggest surprise has got to be the release of defensive end/outside linebacker Derrick Burgess. Burgess had been starting with the 1st team since he returned to the team in mid-August. While he hadn't looked impressive, he still was starting, and after all, he was welcomed back pretty openly after considering retirement at the beginning of training camp. With Burgess as well as Pierre Woods out of the picture, the Patriots have Tully Banta-Cain, Marques Murrell, Ron Ninkovich, and Jermaine Cunningham left at the outside linebacker position.

With that linebacking corps, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Patriots struggle to cover running backs in the passing game this season.

SB Nation's Daily Norseman brings the news of the Vikings' cuts today, with a special focus on Javon Walker's release.

Walker was brought in to add depth after Sidney Rice's injury and Percy Harvin's headache-plagued preseason, but he might have been cut to make room for another player released today: T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Daily Norseman is quick to note that the rumors of Houshmandzadeh signing on in Minnesota are still just rumors. But adding "Housh" to the Vikes' depleted receiving corps makes a lot of sense.

Our ACME Packing Company has the lowdown on the Packers releasing tight end/linebacker Spencer Havner and returner Will Blackmon.

For Havner, being duplicative probably hurt:

I'm surprised, but not really surprised. They have to keep TE Andrew Quarless, who's a great receiver, and TE Tom Crabtree has received a lot of great press in camp while replicating Havner's skill set (good blocker, decent receiver). I just expected Crabtree would be released instead of Havner.

Blackmon is a casualty of his inconsistent health:

S Will Blackmon. I'd love it if he was kept as a backup safety and kick returner, but he's not healthy now and obviously missed a lot of time in the past and in college due to injuries. Staying healthy is a skill too, and he's not going to contribute much if he's constantly on I.R.

Blackmon might not have seen his last day in Green Bay, though. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Packers may be working on an injury settlement with him, and could bring him back after Week 10.