Todd Gurley may have been a surprise cut by the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday afternoon, but he can take solace in being far from the only great player who’s been served his walking papers.
Here’s a look at 30 of the best NFL players who have ever been released by their teams. There are a few Hall of Famers among the bunch, starting with …
1. Peyton Manning
A degenerative neck injury forced Manning to the sidelines for the 2011 season and with Andrew Luck being the can’t-miss prize of the the 2012 draft, the writing was on the wall. Manning and Colts owner Jim Irsay conducted one of the most civilized press conferences after a release in NFL history and the classy Manning was rewarded for it by a great coda in Denver that ended with a Super Bowl title.
2. Cris Carter
Drug issues caused Buddy Ryan to get rid of receiver Cris Carter in 1989, a “tough love” move that the Hall of Fame receiver credits with saving his life and his football career.
3. Kurt Warner
Five full years before leading the St. Louis Rams to the most unlikely title in American sports history, Kurt Warner was unable to crack a crowded QB roster in Green Bay that included Brett Favre, Mark Brunell and Ty Detmer. He famously took a job at an Iowa grocery store and became a star in the Arena League before taking over the 1999 Rams after Trent Green’s injury.
4. Dez Bryant
Bryant was a volatile figure on and off the field in Big D and a messy divorce always felt inevitable. He became expendable when his performance dipped — he never lived up to the $70 million contract he signed in 2015, failing to post 1,000 yards or 10 touchdowns in his next three seasons. He hasn’t played in the NFL since 2017.
5. Wes Welker
The Texas Tech receiver signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers in 2004 and returned kicks in Week 1 but was cut when the team claimed a safety off waivers. He went on to make a name for himself in Miami and then made it big in New England. A few years after his brief stint in San Diego, the coach of that team, Marty Schottenheimer, told Welker, “of all the players I’ve been involved in releasing, the decision to release you was the biggest mistake [I] ever made.”
6. Emmitt Smith
Even the biggest names in franchise history can be cut. The Cowboys released Smith in February 2003 after 13 great seasons in the D. He later landed with the Arizona Cardinals.
7. Charles Woodson
With a $10 million cap hit coming, the Packers had to part ways with Woodson, their 36-year-old former Defensive Player of the Year, in 2013. But, as Woodson found out, you can go home again. He returned to Oakland, the team that drafted him in 1997, and made second-team All-Pro in his final NFL season.
8. Champ Bailey
A 12-time Pro Bowler, Champ Bailey excelled for the Redskins in the beginning of his career and then starred for Denver before being cut in 2014.
9. Richard Sherman
Just 30 years old but coming off an ACL injury, the superstar was let go by the Seahawks in early 2018, a decision that saved the team $11 million in cap space. Sherman ended up with the rival 49ers and made it back to the Super Bowl, though his talents were clearly diminished from the two trips he made with Seattle earlier in the decade.
10. Randy Moss
During his second stint in Minnesota in 2010, Moss explained away a one-catch, eight-yard game against his former team, the New England Patriots, by saying coaches didn’t heed his advice on play calls. He was gone hours later, cut by coach Brad Childress just 25 days after Moss was brought back in a trade.
11. Johnny Unitas
The Steelers cut Unitas in the preseason after taking him in the ninth-round of the 1955 draft. The release forced the husband and father to take a construction job to make ends meet and, on the side, he played sandlot football, earning $3 per game. The next year, Baltimore signed him to be their backup and the rest was history.
12. Jim Plunkett
Jim Plunkett was drafted out of Stanford by the New England Patriots and played for five seasons before being traded to the 49ers. He was cut after two seasons in San Francisco, but he moved to the Oakland Raiders, where he became a two-time Super Bowl winner and MVP in Super Bowl XV.
13. Steve Smith
Steve Smith was upset when the Panthers cut him in 2014 and vowed to get his revenge. He signed in Baltimore and then, in his fourth game, got his chance against his old team. Smith made good on his word, catching seven passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
14. Joe Namath
The Jets put the biggest face their franchise has ever had on waivers on April Fool’s Day, 1977. More surprising than that, Broadway Joe went unclaimed, which led to his release by New York 10 days later. He signed with the Rams, a decision that aged as well as his mutton chops.
15. Jamaal Charles
Two ACL tears sealed Charles’ fate in Kansas City after nine years, five 1,000-yard seasons and two first-team All-Pro selection. After the release, Charles said he would have taken a pay cut to stay in Kansas City, but the team didn’t offer him one.
16. Jerry Rice
After setting dozens of NFL records in his 17 years in San Francisco, Jerry Rice was released by the 49ers, months before his 39th birthday. The Niners tried to keep Rice from wearing another jersey, offering him a $1 million retirement bonus, but the all-time leading pass catcher hung around for three more seasons in Oakland and Seattle.
17. Brett Favre
Brett Favre told the Jets in January 2009 that he was retiring after just one season. In April, the team released him from the reserve/retired list, which opened the door to him possibly signing elsewhere. He did just that, becoming a Minnesota Viking to end his career.
18. Ed Reed
The three-year, $14.9 million contract Reed signed with Houston in 2013 didn’t go very far — the 35-year-old played seven games, posted no interceptions and was unceremoniously released before Thanksgiving, getting $5 million for the effort.
19. Tim Tebow
Did you forget about the 226-day Tebow-in-Philly era? We almost did.
20. DeSean Jackson
In one of the more bizarre days in NFL history, DeSean Jackson was shockingly cut by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014, just hours after NJ.com posted a story about the team’s concern of Jackson’s gang ties in his hometown of Los Angeles. Little more was made of the oddly timed story and Jackson went to the Redskins and Buccaneers before returning to the Eagles in 2019.
21. Jay Cutler
After eight tumultuous seasons, the Bears cut Jay Cutler in 2017. The move saved the team $14 million against the cap and cleared the way for the glorious Mike Glennon era.
22. James Harrison
As a youngster, Harrison was released three times by the Steelers, sometimes floating to the practice squad afterward. He was also released by Baltimore in 2003 after a stint in NFL Europe, but went back to Pittsburgh the next year when the Steelers signed him for a fourth time. Harrison finally caught on and became one of the most feared defenders in the league and was a hero in Super Bowl XLIII. After a stellar career in the Iron City, Harrison was cut by Pittsburgh in 2017 and signed with the Patriots.
23. Arian Foster
After a stellar seven-year career in Houston that began as an undrafted free agent, the Texans parted ways with Foster in 2016, who had trouble staying on the field and was due $9 million the following year. He landed in Miami, where he gained just 55 yards over four games.
24. LaDainian Tomlinson
Running back is the worst job in sports. Just around the time many quarterbacks are hitting their prime, Tomlinson’s nine-year career with the Chargers was over, cut in 2010 because of a $2 million bonus that was due. He played two seasons with the Jets before retiring.
25. Darrelle Revis
Revis Island was foreclosed upon twice in the span of a year, with the Jets cutting ties with their one-time star after inexplicably giving him a guaranteed $39 million to return to the team and seeing it blow up in their face. Revis was unsigned for most of the 2017 season before Kansas City brought him in to shore up a brutal secondary. He played five games and was cut in February 2018.
26. Tyrann Mathieu
The Honey Badger was sent into free agency in February 2018 before $18.75 million of his contract could become guaranteed. He rebounded well, playing one season for Houston before moving to Kansas City and winning a Super Bowl after an All-Pro season.
27. Antonio Brown
This one is still fresh. The talented but troubled wide receiver was cut by the Raiders at the start of the 2019 season, picked up by the Patriots and then cut again a few weeks later.
28. LeSean McCoy
The Bills cut their six-time Pro Bowl running back during 2019 training camp. He landed with the Chiefs where he got a Super Bowl ring, but played sparingly during the season.
29. Joe Flacco
This one wasn’t a big surprise since Flacco was due almost $20 million and Drew Lock looks like the future under center in Denver.
30. Todd Gurley
Life moves at you fast. After tearing up the league in 2017 and 2018, Gurley’s knee became an issue. He was released by the Rams on Thursday just two years into a four-year, $57.5 million deal.
