Of the players cut after the disaster against New England, only G Matt O'Dwyer and LB Hannibal Navies were a surprise. Not too much of a surprise if you watched the New England game; I didn't see O'Dwyer at all and Navies didn't play until the 4th quarter.

O'Dwyer was signed to start at right guard, but 7th round pick G William Whitticker came out of nowhere to impress the team. O'Dwyer was slowed down by minor injuries and a tendency to draw a lot of penalties in the brief time he made it onto the field this preseason.

Navies played with the first team defense early in the preseason, but was pushed behind LB Ray Thompson and LB Paris Lenon as the preseason went on. Still, it was a surprise to see Navies demoted. With LB Na'il Diggs injured, possibly out for the season, and Lenon a constant target of abuse in pass defense (New England picked on Lenon for most of the 3rd quarter), keeping Navies around might have been valuable.