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Before the weekend is out, more than 1,000 football players currently on NFL preseason rosters will be cut to get teams down to the 53-man max for the regular season.
A pair of ex-Arizona Wildcats did their best to avoid being among those let go with some standout play on Thursday night during the final exhibition games for their respective squads.
Scooby Wright III, just signed by the New England Patriots earlier this week, made his presence felt in his first—but hopefully not only—appearance with the storied franchise. In a 31-29 loss to the New York Giants, the 2014 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year started and had two sacks among his four tackles.
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Wright, who was picked by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL draft, last appeared in an NFL regular-season game in 2017 with the Arizona Cardinals.
Recent graduate Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, who signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent, made his case for a spot in the Niners’ secondary with a tremendous interception during the third quarter a 27-24 win over the Los Angeles Chargers:
They were going deep, but @Dflann12 had other plans
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) August 30, 2019
The @49ers get the ball back!
: #LACvsSF on NFL Network (or check local listings) pic.twitter.com/DPZ17rmO0p
NFL teams must trim their rosters to 53 by 4 p.m. ET on Saturday.