First down under: Aussies who made the cut in the NFL

On Sunday morning (Australian time), all 32 NFL teams had to cut their squads from 90 players to the required 53. That’s a massive 1184 players who are now without a job.

Some players will move to the practice squad, others will never be seen again. Only four Australians have made it into the 53 at their respective squads. Here is the list for 2017.

Adam Gotsis: Defensive Tackle – Denver Broncos
Gotsis is the only non-kicker from Australia in the NFL currently. He is in his second year in Denver after being selected with pick 63 of the 2016 draft out of Georgia Tech.

Lachlan Edwards: Punter – New York Jets
Edwards is in his second year at the Jets, after amassing 75 punts last season for 3,236 yards at an average of 43.1 yards. He was virtually a shoe-in to keep his job.

Not bad for a kid from the unknown Sam Houston State University.

Jordan Berry: Punter – Pittsburgh Steelers
Berry went undrafted in 2015 before he was picked up by the Steelers to join the practice squad. He impressed and has been their punter ever since. With an average punt length of 44.2 yards, this kid will be around a while. The 26-year-old is from Essendon but played his college football at Eastern Kentucky.

Brad Wing: Punter – NY Giants
This Aussie Journeyman has had his foot in the NFL since 2013. Wing was at LSU when he went undrafted in 2013 before playing a season each at the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s now in his third year at the Giants.

Averaging 45 yards a punt, Wing will be sending a lot of punts down the field this year.

Those who didn’t make the cut:

• Sam Irwin-Hill (punter) was released by the Dallas Cowboys after a good showing in pre-season.
• Philadelphia Eagles released Punter Cameron Johnston.
• Carolina Panthers moved Offensive Linesmen David Yankey onto the injured reserves list. Making him unavailable for half the season.
• Indianapolis Colts cut Offensive Guard Blake Muir. The Sydney lad showed great promise in the pre-season but was over looked for experience.

You can read more by Chris at NFL Blog Australia.