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August 26, 2007

Cuts always sting

ALAMEDA - It's the time of the year when the locker room gets a little quiet.

It's time for NFL teams to start trimming their rosters, leaving 30 or so guys without jobs by Sept. 1 and scrambling to find work elsewhere or hoping for an injury to free up a spot.

The teams have to be at 75 by Tuesday and the Raiders look as if they've started whittling down the roster.

The Raiders haven't officially announced anyone's release, though there were some players missing at practice today.

No name players were gone unless you count Colin Branch, the younger brother of Raiders scout Calvin Branch, a former Raiders safety.

A couple of receivers (Rich Parson, Lauren Williams), offensive lineman Albert Toeaina, defensive tackle Jared Clauss and cornerback Levonne Rowen were the other missing players who haven't been confirmed as having been let go.

None of the players except Branch played in Friday night's exhibition game.

Johnnie Lee Higgins wasn't at practice, but he definitely didn't get cut.

Jeremy Newberry also wasn't on the practice field, but he's probably just resting his knees. He still has a chance to the Raiders starting center.

One player who definitely was let go was offensive lineman Torrin Tucker. Brought in at the end of training camp, he never had a chance to make the team. A little after 11:30 a.m., Tucker was sitting outside the players' entrance to team headquarters with a black trash bag of his belongings.

He was on his cell phone lamenting, "They could have left me at home for this" and "they never gave me a chance."

There will be a lot of players feeling the same way across the NFL over the next week.

- Jason Jones

Posted by Ahmed Ortiz at 12:36 PM | Comments |