Sammy Vegas - NFL "N"sider #3

With the NFL season set to kick off tomorrow, a number of former Huskers saw their NFL careers kicked to the curb. Last Saturday, teams faced the daunting task of reducing their rosters to 53. Some roster cuts came as a surprise to former players, while others were expected. One of the biggest surprises has to have been Eric Warfield, who signed with the New England Patriots in the offseason. Warfield was expected to fill in immediately to help a depleted Patriots secondary. Although he would not return my repeated phone calls, he will undoubtedly be devoting more time to his website. On the other hand, I experienced mixed emotions when Toniu Fonoti was released from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After naming him to the NFL Bust Team perhaps prematurely, exuberance overcame me. However, this soon faded when I realized that he’d become a mainstay in my NFL ‘N’sider column the past few weeks, and I will now be forced to search for new material. But anyway, the following is a list of former Huskers who were recently released:

Titus Adams (DT) – New York Jets
Mike Erickson (OG) – Tennessee Titans
Toniu Fonoti (OG) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jay Foreman (LB) – New Orleans Saints
Aaron Golliday (TE) – Kansas City Chiefs
Dejuan Groce (CB) – St. Louis Rams*
TJ Hollowell (LB) – Denver Broncos
Jammal Lord (S) – Indianapolis Colts
Jerrell Pippens (S) – San Diego Chargers
Bernard Thomas (DE) – Baltimore Ravens
Eric Warfield (CB) – New England Patriots

*Dejuan Groce recently signed a free agent contract with the New Orleans Saints

In more positive news congratulations to Cory Ross and Sam Koch, who both made the Baltimore Ravens squad.

This is also a time to remember that these athletes that we follow with unfettered devotion are wavering between youth and adulthood. Here is a fantastic article on a Clemson player who has had to grow up in a hurry .