Press staff reports
With the start of the NFL season three days away, the league’s 32 teams have been busy shaping and fine-tuning their 53-man active rosters and 16-man practice squads (those squads can have 17 players if one comes from the International Pathway Program).
Last week, more than 1,000 players were suddenly unemployed as teams had to cut their 90-man preseason rosters to the regular-season limit of 53. Players with more than four seasons of NFL accrued service time were released and became free agents, able to sign with any team. Players with fewer than four years in the NFL were waived and subject to being claimed by other teams.
Isaiah Raikes, a defensive lineman, was among the many players whose name flashed across the transactions wire more than once in the past week. On Tuesday, the Tennessee Titans waived the 2020 St. Augustine Prep graduate. One day later, Tennessee signed him to its practice squad.
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LeQuint Allen, a 2021 Millville graduate, is on the Jacksonville Jaguars' roster as a rookie running back out of Syracuse. He wears No. 36.
Markquese Bell, a Bridgeton graduate who played at Florida A&M, is preparing for his fourth season as a Dallas Cowboys safety. He wears No. 14.
Solomon DeShields, a Millville graduate who played his collegiate ball at Pitt and Texas A&M, spent the preseason as a rookie linebacker with the Colts. Indianapolis released him Tuesday.
Mike Gesicki, a 2014 Southern Regional graduate who played at Penn State, is a tight end preparing for his eighth NFL season and second with the Cincinnati Bengals. He wears No. 88.
Austin Johnson, a Saint Augustine Prep graduate who played at Penn State, is preparing for his 10th NFL season as a defensive tackle. He is in his first season with the Jaguars and wears No. 69.
Bo Melton, a 2017 Cedar Creek High School graduate and former Rutgers University standout wide receiver, has transitioned to cornerback. He wears No. 16.
Max Melton, a 2020 Cedar Creek graduate who also played at Rutgers and is Bo's younger brother, is a second-year cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals. He has switched from No. 80 to No 16, the same number his brother wears.
Isiah Pacheco, a Vineland High School graduate who starred at running back for Rutgers, is a two-time Super Bowl champion entering his fourth season with the Kansas City Chiefs. He wears No. 10.
Tyreem Powell, a 2020 Vineland graduate and former Rutgers standout, was a rookie linebacker with the Saints during the preseason. New Orleans waived him Aug. 25.
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