The biggest surprise of cutdown day on Saturday was how more teams gambled on going into the first week of the season with only two quarterbacks.
Nine teams -- Baltimore, Denver, Carolina, Dallas, San Diego, Indianapolis, Houston, Pittsburgh and New England -- are currently relying on two quarterbacks. Either that's a negative statement on the state of backup quarterback availability or it's just a way to open up another roster spot for other moves during the week. The Panthers cut Stefan LeFors and Brett Basanez, leaving Jake Delhomme and Chris Weinke as the only remaining quarterbacks. It was a little surprising the Colts cut veteran Shaun King considering Jim Sorgi is coming off a recent injury. New Texans coach Gary Kubiak copied Mike Shanahan's formula of starting the season with only two QBs -- David Carr and Sage Rosenfels. The Broncos kept Jake Plummer and Jay Cutler after releasing Bradlee Van Pelt and Preston Parson. Obviously, most of these teams will be scrambling to get quarterbacks on their practice squads or add one during the coming week.
Gabriel's departure opens door for Porter: The trade of Doug Gabriel to New England was the biggest surprise of the day. It's an obvious sign that Jerry Porter has a chance to win back some playing time under Raiders coach Art Shell. The Patriots, meanwhile, had to do something to get a wide receiver. Deion Branch is probably going to hold out into the season and the Patriots for weeks have been calling around for receiving options. It's even more surprising the Raiders would give up Gabriel knowing they placed Carlos Francis on injured reserve. With Ronald Curry coming off Achilles tears the past two years, this is a sign of endorsement for Johnnie Morant. Gabriel's strength is that he can get deep and have a decent average per catch. The Patriots were able to get Gabriel for what is believed to be a fifth-round draft choice.
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John Clayton
