The term “veteran” in any sport is a term of endearment. It shows that a player has been around a long time. These veterans are usually guys you want in your locker room. Maybe they won’t play every snap, but they can mentor younger players and they won’t make the same mental mistakes a first or second-year player might.
But sometimes, “veteran” is just a tag we slap on someone who has probably hung around the league for a little too long, and is clinging to a roster spot. These are still perfectly fine locker room guys, but they’re quality of play has decreased too much or their contracts are too expensive to keep them on the roster.
These are 10 guys that, by the time training camp ends, could find themselves as free agents again because there’s just no room for them on the depth chart.
Kyle Orton, QB, Dallas Cowboys
We’re starting out with a tricky one. One way or another, Orton is probably not going to be playing football this year. He has told the Cowboys he wants to retire, but they won’t cut him because then he’d have to pay back $3 million of his $5 million signing bonus.
Dallas would rather keep him around, because Tony Romo’s injury history as of late. If Romo were to miss time, Brandon Weeden would be the starter, and Orton is a significantly better option than Weeden. Orton hasn’t showed up to any camps or physicals, so for now, it’s still wait-and-see on both sides.
Leonard Hankerson, WR, Washington Redskins
Ever since he came into the league in 2011, it seems like Hankerson has always been teetering on the edge of a roster spot in Washington. He has been incredibly inconsistent in his three NFL seasons, and heading into his fourth, this could be it for him on the Redskins.
Hankerson only has six total touchdowns in 30 career games, and Washington has Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, Aldrick Robinson, Andre Roberts and Santana Moss (side note: what’s it going to take for the Redskins to finally cut ties with Moss?) head of him on the depth chart. It’ll take a really strong camp performance or an injury for Hankerson to keep his job.
Shonn Greene, RB, Tennessee Titans
People are using Greene as an excuse to doubt the year Bishop Sankey could have as a rookie, but there’s a distinct possibility that Greene is off the team by the time the season starts. He has been injured and hasn’t taken a single snap in any camps this offseason and missed five games last season.
If Greene misses more time, Jackie Battle and Leon Washington could move up on the depth chart and push Greene out.
Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
On the surface, you’d think the Steelers would need Heyward-Bey, a speedster, after losing Emmanuel Sanders this offseason. But they seem content with Antonio Brown and Markus Wheaton as their starters, and they signed Lance Moore to come out of the slot and rookie Martavis Bryant was a fourth-round selection.
Bey only had 309 yards all season last year for the Indianapolis Colts, who were missing Reggie Wayne for the last part of the season and has had three seasons with just one touchdown. There’s not really a use for the sixth-year player in Pittsburgh.
Javier Arenas, CB, Atlanta Falcons
You’d think the Falcons would need all the help they can get in the secondary, but they do have Desmond Trufant, Robert Alford, Sean Baker and Josh Wilson above Arenas on the depth chart.
Arenas, entering his fifth year in the league, hasn’t recorded an interception his 2011 when he was with the Kansas City Chiefs, and only had 11 tackles last season with the Arizona Cardinals. He could have kept his spot as a kick/punt returner, but the Falcons brought in Devin Hester in the offseason, who will certainly take on both returning roles.
Peyton Hillis, RB, New York Giants
Hillis was actually a savior for the Giants’ offense last season, coming in and at least being serviceable for a few games when the rest of their backs were decimated. Hillis, now in his seventh year in the league (remember that time Hillis scored 11 touchdowns and made the cover of Madden?) but has averaged just 3.6 yards per carry in his past three seasons and always seems to get hurt.
David Wilson is in a precarious spot with his history of neck injuries, but he is nonetheless still on the roster, and the Giants signed former Raider Rashad Jennings to be the starter, and drafted Andre Williams, who was a Heisman candidate last year with Pitt. Unless the Giants are convinced Hillis is worth keeping on as a goal-line threat, his time in New York will be up.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
The writing is on the wall for The Law Firm. On paper, his numbers don’t look that bad. In his two years with Cincinnati, Green-Ellis has 13 touchdowns and he had a 1,000-yard season in 2012. But his skill is starting to decline heading into his seventh year in the league. He is a relatively slow back, and the Bengals now have Giovani Bernard as the feature back, plus rookie Jeremy Hill who even threatens to take away touches from Bernard, let alone Green-Ellis.
Cincy also has Rex Burkhead in was is basically his rookie year after missing all of last year with a hamstring injury. Green-Ellis can still be a backup in the league with another team, but he doesn’t fit in Cincinnati’s future.
Dan Carpenter, K, Buffalo Bills
In the kicker world, Carpenter has been a staple in his six NFL seasons with Miami and Buffalo. However, the Bills drafted Dustin Hopkins out of Florida State last season in the sixth round of the draft, but he had to miss all of last year with an injury.
Teams will rarely keep two kickers on the roster, and Carpenter has actually never been that great of a kicker (he made just 73.2 percent of his field goals in 2010). If Carpenter struggles even a little in camp, it’ll be Hopkins’s job.
Kevin Ogletree, WR, Detroit Lions
Remember the first game of the season for the Cowboys in 2012 when Ogletree had 114 yards and two touchdowns? Remember when fantasy owners tripped over themselves trying to pick him up? Those days are long gone now, and with five years under his belt, Ogletree has yet to surpass 1,000 yards for his career.
In a deep wide receiver depth chart for the Lions, Ogletree will probably be the odd man out. After Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, Detroit still has Ryan Broyles Kris Durham and Jeremy Ross, plus Eric Ebron, Brandon Pettigrew and Joseph Fauria at tight end. When roster cuts come, it’ll be tough for Ogletree to convince the Lions he should keep a spot given all those weapons.
Gino Gradkowski, C, Baltimore Ravens
Gadkowski hasn’t been around as long as these other players, but he has been a starting center for two years now. After being widely considered the worst starting center in football last year, the Ravens traded for Jeremy Zuttah, giving up a fifth-round pick to the Buccaneers.
Zuttah is an upgrade at center for the Ravens, and although Gradkowski isn’t making a ton of money, he is totally expendable and if a better choice comes up for the Ravens to keep on the roster, they’ll look to cut Gradkowski.
Note: All depth chart notes are from Ourlads.com